,,the                    ,,collected    
,,works ,,of ,,william ,,hazlitt        
,,in ,,twelve ,,volumes                 
,,volume ,,nine                         
,all rights reserved                    
,,the ,,collected ,,works ,,of          
,,william ,,hazlitt                     
,,edited ,,by ,a4 ,r4 ,,waller          
,,and ,,arnold ,,glover                 
,,with ,,an ,,introduction ,,by         
,w4 ,e4 ,,henley                        
,the ,principal                         
,picture-,galleries in ,england         
,notes of a ,journey through ,france and
 ,italy                   ,miscellaneous
 ,essays on the ,fine ,arts             
#aijc                         ,,london3 
,j4 ,m4 ,,dent  ,,co4                   
,mc,c,l,u,r,e1 ,,phillips  ,,co43 ,,new 
,,york             ,edinburgh3 ,t4 and  
,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his      
,majesty                                
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,contents                              

,,page              ,,the ,,principal   
,,picture-,,galleries ,,in ,,england    
#a              ,,notes ,,of ,a         
,,journey ,,through ,,france ,,and      
,,italy   #hc                           
,,miscellaneous ,,essays ,,on ,,the     
,,fine ,,arts        #cje               
,,notes                                 
#dci              ,,appendix            
#dhi     ,,sketches ,,of ,,the          
,,principal ,,picture-,,galleries ,,in  
,,england ,,with ,a ,,criticism         
,,on #8,,marriage ,a-,,la-,,mode'       
,,bibliographical ,,note   ,sketches of 
the ,principal ,picture-,galleries in   
,england4 ,with a ,criticism on         
#8,marriage a-la-mode1' appeared in a   
small #hvo4 volume 7#f in4  #d in47 in  
#ahbd1 #8,printed for ,taylor and       
,hessey1 #ic1 ,fleet-,street1 and #ac1  
,waterloo-,place1 ,pall-,mall4' ,the    
last page bears advertisements of the   
,characters of ,shakspeare's ,plays1    
,lectures on the ,english ,poets1 and   
,lectures on the ,english ,comic        

,writers4 ,the printer's name1 given    
behind the half-title1 is #8,t4 ,green1 
#gf ,fleet-street4'  ,four pages of     
,taylor  ,hessey's announcements        
7#8,booksellers to ,h4,r4,h4 the ,prince
 ,leopold'7 are bound up with the       
volume4  ,the present text is that of   
the #ahbd volume4  ,the ,sketches formed
 part of the two volumes of             
#8,criticisms on ,art1' collected and   
edited by his son in #ahdc-d1 and of the
 one volume of #8,essays on the ,fine   
,arts1' edited by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt 
in #ahgc4                               
,,advertisement   ,it is the object of  
the following little work to give an    
account of the principal                
,picture-,galleries in this country1 and
 to describe the feelings which they    
naturally excite in the mind of a lover 
of art4 ,almost all those of any        
importance have been regularly gone     
through4 ,one or two1 that still remain 
unnoticed1 may be added to our catalogue
 raisonne at a future opportunity4 ,it  

may not be improper to mention here that
 ,mr4 ,angerstein's pictures have been  
lately purchased for the commencement of
 a ,national ,gallery1 but are still to 
be seen in their old places on the walls
 of his house4                          
,,contents                              
,,page                   ,mr4           
,angerstein's ,collection          #g   
,dulwich ,gallery                       
#ag                   ,the ,marquis of  
,stafford's ,gallery   #bg              
,pictures at ,windsor ,castle           
#cf                   ,pictures at      
,hampton ,court           #db           
,lord ,grosvenor's ,collection          
#di                   ,pictures at      
,wilton and ,stourhead    #ee           
,pictures at ,burleigh ,house           
#fb                   ,pictures at      
,oxford and ,blenheim     #fi           
,,appendix                   ,criticism 
on ,marriage a-la-,mode     #ge         
,,picture-,,galleries ,,in ,,england    
,,mr4 ,,angerstein',s ,,collection  ,oh6

 ,art1 lovely ,art6 #8,balm of hurt     
minds1 chief nourisher in life's feast1 
great ,nature's second course6' ,time's 
treasurer1 the unsullied mirror of the  
mind of man6 ,thee we invoke1 and not in
 vain1 for we find thee here retired in 
thy plentitude and thy power6 ,the walls
 are dark with beauty2 they frown       
severest grace4 ,the eye is not caught  
by glitter and varnish2 we see the      
pictures by their own internal light4   
,this is not a bazaar1 a raree-show of  
art1 a ,noah's ark of all the ,schools1 
marching out in endless procession2 but 
a sanctuary1 a holy of holies1 collected
 by taste1 sacred to fame1 enriched by  
the rarest products of genius4 ,for the 
number of pictures1 ,mr4 ,angerstein's  
is the finest gallery1 perhaps1 in the  
world4 ,we feel no sense of littleness3 
the attention is never distracted for a 
moment1 but concentrated on a few       
pictures of first-rate excellence4 ,many
 of these chef-d'uvres might occupy the 
spectator for a whole morning2 yet they 

do not interfere with the pleasure      
derived from each other--so much        
consistency of style is there in the    
midst of variety6  ,we know of no       
greater treat than to be admitted freely
 to a ,collection of this sort1 where   
the mind reposes with full confidence in
 its feelings of admiration1 and finds  
that idea and love of conceivable       
beauty1 which it has cherished perhaps  
for a whole life1 reflected from every  
object around it4 ,it is a cure 7for the
 time at least7 for low-thoughted cares 
and uneasy passions4 ,we are abstracted 
to another sphere3 we breathe empyrean  
air2 we enter into the minds of         
,raphael1 of ,titian1 of ,poussin1 of   
the ,caracci1 and look at nature with   
their eyes2 we live in time past1 and   
seem identified with the permanent forms
 of things4 ,the business of the world  
at large1 and even its pleasures1 appear
 like a vanity and an impertinence4     
,what signify the hubbub1 the shifting  
scenery1 the fantoccini figures1 the    

folly1 the idle fashions without1 when  
compared with the solitude1 the silence1
 the speaking looks1 the unfading forms 
within8--,here is the mind's true home4 
,the contemplation of truth and beauty  
is the proper object for which we were  
created1 which calls forth the most     
intense desires of the soul1 and of     
which it never tires4 ,a capital        
print-shop 7,molteno's or ,colnaghi's7  
is a point to aim at in a morning's     
walk--a relief and satisfaction in the  
motley confusion1 the littleness1 the   
vulgarity of common life3 but a         
print-shop has but a mean1 cold1 meagre1
 petty appearance after coming out of a 
fine ,collection of ,pictures4 ,we want 
the size of life1 the marble flesh1 the 
rich tones of nature1 the diviner       
expanded expression4 ,good prints are no
 doubt1 better than bad pictures2 or    
prints1 generally speaking1 are better  
than pictures2 for we have more prints  
of good pictures than of bad ones3 yet  
they are for the most part but hints1   

loose memorandums1 outlines in little of
 what the painter has done4 ,how often1 
in turning over a number of choice      
engravings1 do we tantalise ourselves by
 thinking #8what a head that must       
be1'--in wondering what colour a piece  
of drapery is of1 green or black1--in   
wishing1 in vain1 to know the exact tone
 of the sky in a particular corner of   
the picture6 ,throw open the            
folding-doors of a fine ,collection1 and
 you see all you have desired realised  
at a blow--the bright originals starting
 up in their own proper shape1 clad with
 flesh and blood1 and teeming with the  
first conceptions of the painter's mind6
 ,the disadvantage of pictures is1 that 
they cannot be multiplied to any extent1
 like books or prints2 but this1 in     
another point of view1 operates probably
 as an advantage1 by making the sight of
 a fine original picture an event so    
much the more memorable1 and the        
impression so much the deeper4 ,a visit 
to a genuine ,collection is like going a

 pilgrimage--it is an act of devotion   
performed at the shrine of ,art6 ,it is 
as if there were but one copy of a book 
in the world1 locked up in some curious 
casket1 which1 by special favour1 we had
 been permitted to open1 and peruse 7as 
we must7 with unaccustomed relish4 ,the 
words would in that case leave stings in
 the mind of the reader1 and every      
letter appear of gold4 ,the ancients1   
before the invention of printing1 were  
nearly in the same situation with       
respect to books1 that we are with      
regard to pictures2 and at the revival  
of letters1 we find the same unmingled  
satisfaction1 or fervid enthusiasm1     
manifested in the pursuit or the        
discovery of an old manuscript1 that    
connoisseurs still feel in the purchase 
and possession of an antique cameo1 or a
 fine specimen of the ,italian school of
 painting4 ,literature was not then     
cheap and vulgar1 nor was there what is 
called a reading public2 and the pride  
of intellect1 like the pride of art1 or 

the pride of birth1 was confined to the 
privileged few6  ,we sometimes1 in      
viewing a celebrated ,collection1 meet  
with an old favourite1 a first love in  
such matters1 that we have not seen for 
many years1 which greatly enhances the  
delight4 ,we have1 perhaps1 pampered our
 imaginations with it all that time2 its
 charms have sunk deep into our minds2  
we wish to see it once more1 that we may
 confirm our judgment1 and renew our    
vows4 ,the ,susannah and the ,elders at 
,mr4 ,angerstein's was one of those that
 came upon us under these circumstances4
 ,we had seen it formerly1 among other  
visions of our youth1 in the ,orleans   
,collection1--where we used to go and   
look at it by the hour together1 till   
our hearts thrilled with its beauty1 and
 our eyes were filled with tears4 ,how  
often had we thought of it since1 how   
often spoken of it6--,there it was      
still1 the same lovely phantom as       
ever--not as when ,rousseau met ,madame 
de ,warens1 after a lapse of twenty     

years1 who was grown old and            
wrinkled--but as if the young ,jewish   
,beauty had been just surprised in that 
unguarded spot--crouching down in one   
corner of the picture1 the face turned  
back with a mingled expression of       
terror1 shame1 and unconquerable        
sweetness1 and the whole figure 7with   
the arms crossed7 shrinking into itself 
with bewitching grace and modesty6 ,it  
is by ,ludovico ,caracci1 and is worthy 
of his name1 from its truth and purity  
of design1 its expression and its mellow
 depth of tone4 ,of the ,elders1 one is 
represented in the attitude of advancing
 towards her1 while the other beckons   
her to rise4 ,we know of no painter who 
could have improved upon the ,susannah1 
except ,correggio1 who1 with all his    
capricious blandishments1 and wreathed  
angelic smiles1 would hardly have given 
the same natural unaffected grace1 the  
same perfect womanhood4  ,there is but  
one other picture in the ,collection1   
that strikes us1 as a matter of taste or

 fancy1 like this2 and that is the      
,silenus teaching a ,young ,apollo to   
play on the pipe--a small oblong        
picture1 executed in distemper1 by      
,annibal ,caracci4 ,the old preceptor is
 very fine1 with a jolly1 leering1      
pampered look of approbation1 half      
inclining to the brute1 half-conscious  
of the ,god2 but it is the ,apollo that 
constitutes the charm of the picture1   
and is indeed divine4 ,the whole figure 
is full of simple careless grace1       
laughing in youth and beauty2 he holds  
the ,pan's-pipe in both hands1 looking  
up with timid wonder2 and the expression
 of delight and surprise at the sounds  
he produces is not to be surpassed4 ,the
 only image we would venture to compare 
with it for innocent artless            
voluptuousness1 is that of the          
shepherd-boy in ,sir ,philip ,sidney's  
,arcadia1 #8piping as though he should  
never be old6' ,a comparison of this    
sort1 we believe1 may be made1 in spite 
of the proverb1 without injustice to the

 painter or the poet4 ,both gain by it4 
,the idea conveyed by the one1 perhaps1 
receives an additional grace and lustre1
 while a more beautiful moral sentiment 
hovers round the other1 from thinking of
 them in this casual connection4 ,if    
again it be asked1 ,which is the most   
admirable8--we should answer--,both are 
equally exquisite in their way1 and     
yield the imagination all the pleasure  
it is capable of--and should decline    
giving an invidious preference to       
either4 ,the cup can only be full4 ,the 
young shepherd in the ,arcadia wants no 
outward grace to recommend him2 the     
stripling ,god no hidden charm of       
expression4 ,the language of painting   
and poetry is intelligible enough to    
mortals2 the spirit of both is divine1  
and far too good for him1 who1 instead  
of enjoying to the utmost height1 would 
find an unwelcome flaw in either4 ,the  
,silenus and ,apollo has something of a 
,raffaellesque air1 with a mixture of   
,correggio's arch sensibility--there is 

nothing of ,titian in the colouring--yet
 ,annibal ,caracci was in theory a      
deserter from the first to the two last 
of these masters2 and swore with an     
oath1 in a letter to his uncle          
,ludovico1 that #8they were the only    
true painters6'  ,we should nearly have 
exhausted our stock of enthusiasm in    
descanting on these two compositions1 in
 almost any other case2 but there is no 
danger of this in the present instance4 
,if we were at any loss in this respect1
 we should only have to turn to the     
large picture of the ,raising of        
,lazarus1 by ,sebastian del ,piombo2    
----#8and still walking under1          
,find some new matter to look up and    
wonder4'  ,we might dwell on the        
masterly strength of the drawing1 the   
gracefulness of the principal female    
figures1 the high-wrought execution1 the
 deep1 rich1 mosaic colouring1 the      
massiness and bustle of the back-ground4
 ,we think this one of the best pictures
 on so large a scale that we are        

anywhere acquainted with4 ,the whole    
management of the design has a very     
noble and imposing effect1 and each part
 severally will bear the closest        
scrutiny4 ,it is a magnificent structure
 built of solid and valuable materials4 
,the artist has not relied merely on the
 extent of his canvas1 or the importance
 of his subject1 for producing a        
striking result--the effect is made out 
by an aggregate of excellent parts4 ,the
 hands1 the feet1 the drapery1 the      
heads1 the features1 are all fine4      
,there is some satisfaction in looking  
at a large historical picture1 such as  
this3 for you really gain in quantity1  
without losing in quality2 and have a   
studious imitation of individual nature1
 combined with masculine invention1 and 
the comprehensive arrangement of an     
interesting story4 ,the ,lazarus is very
 fine and bold4 ,the flesh is           
well-baked1 dingy1 and ready to crumble 
from the touch1 when it is liberated    
from its dread confinement to have life 

and motion impressed on it again4 ,he   
seems impatient of restraint1 gazes     
eagerly about him1 and looks out from   
his shrouded prison on this new world   
with hurried amazement1 as if ,death had
 scarcely yet resigned his power over   
the senses4 ,we would wish our artists  
to look at the legs and feet of this    
figure1 and see how correctness of      
finishing and a greatness of gusto in   
design are compatible with1 and set off 
each other4 ,the attendant female       
figures have a peculiar grace and       
becoming dignity1 both of expression and
 attitude4 ,they are in a style         
something between ,michael ,angelo and  
,parmegiano4 ,they take a deep interest 
in the scene1 but it is with the air of 
composure proper to the sex1 who are    
accustomed by nature and duty to works  
of charity and compassion4 ,the head of 
the old man1 kneeling behind ,christ1 is
 an admirable study of drawing1         
execution1 and character4 ,the ,christ  
himself is grave and earnest1 with a    

noble and impressive countenance2 but   
the figure wants that commanding air    
which ought to belong to one possessed  
of preternatural power1 and in the act  
of displaying it4 ,too much praise      
cannot be given to the back-ground--the 
green and white draperies of some old   
people at a distance1 which are as airy 
as they are distinct--the buildings like
 tombs--and the different groups1 and   
processions of figures1 which seem to   
make life almost as grave and solemn a  
business as death itself4 ,this picture 
is said by some to have been designed by
 ,michael ,angelo1 and painted by       
,sebastian del ,piombo1 in rivalship of 
some of ,raphael's works4 ,it was in the
 ,orleans ,gallery4  ,near this large   
historical composition stands 7or is    
suspended in a case7 a single head1 by  
,raphael1 of ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,it is 
in itself a ,collection--a world of     
thought and character4 ,there is a      
prodigious weight and gravity of look1  
combined with calm self-possession1 and 

easiness of temper4 ,it has the cast of 
an ,english countenance1 which          
,raphael's portraits often have1        
,titian's never4 ,in ,raphael's the     
mind1 or the body1 frequently prevails2 
in ,titian's you always see the         
soul--faces #8which pale passion loves4'
 ,look at the ,music-piece by ,titian1  
close by in this ,collection--it is     
#8all ear1'--the expression is          
evanescent as the sounds--the features  
are seen in a sort of dim chiaro scuro1 
as if the confused impressions of       
another sense intervened--and you might 
easily suppose some of the performers to
 have been engaged the night before in  
#8,mask or midnight serenade1           
,which the starved lover to his mistress
 sings1              ,best quitted with 
disdain4'#a  ,the ruddy1 bronzed        
colouring of ,raphael generally takes   
off from any appearance of nocturnal    
watching and languid hectic passion6    
,the portrait of ,julius ,,ii4 is       
finished to a great nicety4 ,the hairs  

of the beard1 the fringe on the cap1 are
 done by minute and careful touches of  
the pencil4 ,in seeing the labour1 the  
conscientious and modest pains1 which   
this great painter bestowed upon his    
smallest works1 we cannot help being    
struck with the number and magnitude of 
those he left behind him4 ,when we have 
a single portrait placed before us1 that
 might seem to have taken half a year to
 complete it1 we wonder how the same    
painter could find time to execute his  
,cartoons1 the compartments of the      
,vatican1 and a thousand other matchless
 works4 ,the same account serves for    
both4 ,the more we do1 the more we can  
do4 ,our leisure 7though it may seem a  
paradox7 is in proportion to our        
industry4 ,the same habit of intense    
application1 which led our artist to    
bestow as much pains and attention on   
the study of a single head1 as if his   
whole reputation had depended on it1    
enabled him to set about the greatest   
works with alacrity1 and to finish them 

with ease4 ,if he had done any thing he 
undertook to do1 in a slovenly          
disreputable manner1 he would 7upon the 
same principle7 have lain idle half his 
time4 ,zeal and diligence1 in this view1
 make life1 short as it is1             
long4--,neither did ,raphael1 it should 
seem1 found his historical pretensions  
on his incapacity to paint a good       
portrait4 ,on the contrary1 the latter  
here looks very much like the           
corner-stone of the historical edifice4 
,nature did not put him out4 ,he was not
 too great a genius to copy what he saw4
 ,he probably thought that a deference  
to nature is the beginning of art1 and  
that the highest eminence is scaled by  
single steps6  ,on the same stand as the
 portrait of ,julius ,,ii4 is the much  
vaunted ,correggio--the ,christ in the  
,garden4 ,we would not give a farthing  
for it4 ,the drapery of the ,christ is  
highly finished in a silver and azure   
tone--but high finishing is not all we  
ask from ,correggio4 ,it is more worthy 

of ,carlo ,dolce4--,lest we should      
forget it1 we may mention here1 that the
 admired portrait of ,govarcius was gone
 to be copied at ,somerset-house4 ,the  
,academy have then1 at length1 fallen   
into the method pursued at the ,british 
,gallery1 of recommending the students  
to copy from the ,,old ,,masters4       
,well--better late than never6 ,this    
same portrait is not1 we think1 the     
truest specimen of ,vandyke4 ,it has not
 his mild1 pensive1 somewhat effeminate 
cast of colour and expression4 ,his best
 portraits have an air of faded         
gentility about them4 ,the ,govarcius   
has too many streaks of blood-colour1   
too many marks of the pencil1 to convey 
an exact idea of ,vandyke's             
characteristic excellence2 though it is 
a fine imitation of ,rubens's florid    
manner4 ,vandyke's most striking        
portraits are those which look just like
 a gentleman or lady seen in a          
looking-glass1 and neither more nor     
less4  ,of the ,claudes1 we prefer the  

,st4 ,ursula--the ,embarking of the     
,five thousand ,virgins--to the others4 
,the water is exquisite2 and the sails  
of the vessels glittering in the morning
 sun1 and the blue flags placed against 
the trees1 which seem like an opening   
into the sky behind--so sparkling is the
 effect of this ambiguity in            
colouring--are in ,claude's most perfect
 manner4 ,the ,altieri ,claude is one of
 his noblest and most classical         
compositions1 with towers1 and trees1   
and streams1 and flocks1 and herds1 and 
distant sunny vales1                    
----#8,where universal ,pan1            
,knit with the ,graces and the ,hours in
 dance1               ,leads on the     
eternal spring3--'  but the effect of   
the execution has been deadened and     
rendered flat by time or ill-usage4     
,there is a dull1 formal appearance1 as 
if the different masses of sky1 of      
water1 c41 were laid on with plates of  
tin or lead4 ,this is not a general     
defect in ,claude3 his landscapes have  

the greatest quantity of inflection1 the
 most delicate brilliancy1 of all       
others4 ,a lady had been making a good  
copy of the ,seaport1 which is a        
companion to the one we have described4 
,we do not think these ,claudes1 famous 
as they are1 equal to ,lord ,egremont's 
,jacob and ,laban2 to the ,enchanted    
,castle2 to a green vernal ,landscape1  
which was in ,walsh ,porter's           
,collection1 and which was the very     
finest we ever saw2 nor to some others  
that have appeared from time to time in 
the ,british ,institution4 ,we are sorry
 to make this1 which may be thought an  
ill-natured1 remark3 but1 though we have
 a great respect for ,mr4 ,angerstein's 
taste1 we have a greater for ,claude    
,lorraine's reputation4 ,let any persons
 admire these specimens of his art as   
much as they will 7and the more they    
admire them1 the more we shall be       
gratified71 and then we will tell them1 
he could do far finer things than these6
  ,there is one ,rembrandt1 and one ,n4 

,poussin4 ,the ,rembrandt 7the ,woman   
taken in ,adultery7 is prodigious in    
colouring1 in light and shade1 in       
pencilling1 in solemn effect2 but that  
is nearly all--                         
#8,of outward show                      
,elaborate1 of inward less exact4'      
,nevertheless1 it is worth any money4   
,the ,christ has considerable           
seriousness and dignity of aspect4 ,the 
marble pavement1 of which the light is  
even dazzling2 the figures of the two   
,rabbis to the right1 radiant with      
crimson1 green1 and azure2 the          
back-ground1 which seems like some rich 
oil-colour smeared over a ground of     
gold1 and where the eye staggers on from
 one abyss of obscurity to              
another1--place this picture in the     
first rank of ,rembrandt's wonderful    
performances4 ,if this extraordinary    
genius was the most literal and vulgar  
of draughtsmen1 he was the most ideal of
 colourists4 ,when ,annibal ,caracci    
vowed to ,god1 that ,titian and         

,correggio were the only true painters1 
he had not seen ,rembrandt2--if he had1 
he would have added him to the list4    
,the ,poussin is a ,dance of            
,bacchanals3 theirs are not #8pious     
orgies4' ,it is1 however1 one of this   
master's finest pictures1 both in the   
spirit of the execution1 and the        
ingenuity and equivoque of the          
invention4 ,if the purity of the drawing
 will make amends for the impurity of   
the design1 it may pass3 assuredly the  
same subject1 badly executed1 would not 
be endured2 but the life of mind1 the   
dexterity of combination displayed in   
it1 supply the want of decorum4 ,the old
 adage1 that #8,vice1 by losing all its 
grossness1 loses half its evil1' seems  
chiefly applicable to pictures4 ,thus a 
naked figure1 that has nothing but its  
nakedness to recommend it1 is not fit to
 be hung up in decent apartments4 ,if it
 is a ,nymph by ,titian1 ,correggio's   
,i1 we no longer think of its being     
naked2 but merely of its sweetness1 its 

beauty1 its naturalness4 ,so far art1 as
 it is intellectual1 has a refinement   
and extreme unction of its own4         
,indifferent pictures1 like dull people1
 must absolutely be moral6 ,we suggest  
this as a hint to those persons of more 
gallantry than discretion1 who think    
that to have an indecent daub hanging up
 in one corner of the room1 is proof of 
a liberality of gusto1 and a            
considerable progress in virt4 ,tout au 
contraire4  ,we have a clear1 brown1    
woody ,landscape by ,gaspar ,poussin1 in
 his fine determined style of           
pencilling1 which gives to earth its    
solidity1 and to the air its proper     
attributes4 ,there are perhaps1 no      
landscapes that excel his in this fresh1
 healthy look of nature4 ,one might say1
 that wherever his pencil loves to      
haunt1 #8the air is delicate4' ,we      
forgot to notice a ,st4 ,john in the    
,wilderness1 by ,a4 ,caracci1 which has 
much of the autumnal tone1 the #8sear   
and yellow leaf1' of ,titian's          

landscape-compositions4 ,a ,rape of the 
,sabines1 in the inner room1 by ,rubens1
 is1 we think1 the most tasteless       
picture in the ,collection3 to see      
plump1 florid viragos struggling with   
bearded ruffians1 and tricked out in the
 flounces1 furbelows1 and finery of the 
court of ,louis ,,xiv4 is preposterous4 
,but there is another ,rubens in the    
outer room1 which1 though fantastical   
and quaint1 has qualities to redeem all 
faults4 ,it is an allegory of himself   
and his three wives1 as a ,st4 ,george  
and ,holy ,family1 with his children as 
,christ and ,st4 ,john1 playing with a  
lamb2 in which he has contrived to bring
 together all that is rich in antique   
dresses1 7black as jet1 and shining like
 diamonds17 transparent in flesh-colour1
 agreeable in landscape1 unfettered in  
composition4 ,the light streams from    
rosy clouds2 the breeze curls the       
branches of the trees in the            
back-ground1 and plays on the clear     
complexions of the various scattered    

group4 ,it is one of this painter's most
 splendid1 and1 at the same time1 most  
solid and sharply finished productions4 
,mr4 ,wilkie's ,alehouse ,door is here1 
and deserves to be here4 ,still it is   
not his best2 though there are some very
 pleasing rustic figures1 and some      
touching passages in it4 ,as in his     
,blind-,man's-buff1 the groups are too  
straggling1 and spread over too large a 
surface of bare foreground1 which ,mr4  
,wilkie does not paint well4 ,it looks  
more like putty than earth or clay4 ,the
 artist has a better eye for the        
individual details1 than for the general
 tone of objects4 ,mr4 ,liston's face in
 this #8flock of drunkards' is a smiling
 failure4  ,a portrait of ,hogarth1 by  
himself1 and ,sir ,joshua's half-length 
of ,lord ,heathfield1 hang in the same  
room4 ,the last of these is certainly a 
fine picture1 well composed1 richly     
coloured1 with considerable character1  
and a look of nature4 ,nevertheless1 our
 artist's pictures1 seen among standard 

works1 have 7to speak it plainly7       
something old-womanish about them4 ,by  
their obsolete and affected air1 they   
remind one of antiquated ladies of      
quality1 and are a kind of              
,duchess-,dowagers in the art--somewhere
 between the living and the dead4       
,hogarth's series of the ,marriage      
a-la-,mode#b 7the most delicately       
painted of all his pictures1 and        
admirably they certainly are painted7   
concludes the ,catalogue ,raisonne of   
this ,collection4--,a study of ,heads1  
by ,correggio1 and some of ,mr4         
,fuseli's stupendous figures from his   
,milton ,gallery1 are on the staircase4 
,a ,,catalogue ,,of ,,the ,,pictures    
,,in ,,the ,,angerstein ,,gallery   #a4 
,the ,marriage  la ,mode1 ,no4 #a4      
,hogarth4   #b4 ,the ,marriage  la      
,mode1 ,no4 #b4                         
,ditto4   #c4 ,the ,marriage  la ,mode1 
,no4 #c4                                
,ditto4   #d4 ,the ,marriage  la ,mode1 
,no4 #d4                                

,ditto4   #e4 ,the ,marriage  la ,mode1 
,no4 #e4                                
,ditto4   #f4 ,the ,marriage  la ,mode1 
,no4 #f4                                
,ditto4   #g4 ,portrait of ,lord        
,heathfield1 the ,defender of           
,sir ,joshua    ,gibraltar4             
,reynolds4   #h4 ,his own ,portrait1    
with his ,dog4                          
,hogarth4   #i4 ,the ,village ,festival4
                                        
,wilkie4   #aj4 ,the ,portrait of       
,rubens4 7,formerly in the ,collection  
,vandyck4    of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds47
   #aa4 ,the ,woman taken in ,adultery4 
,painted for the           ,rembrandt4  
,burgomaster ,six4   #ab4 ,a ,landscape2
 ,evening2 with ,horses1 ,cattle1 and   
,cuyp4    ,figures4 7,from the          
,collection of ,sir ,laurence ,dundas47 
#ac4 ,christ praying in the ,garden4    
,correggio4   #ad4 ,the ,adoration of   
the ,shepherds4                         
,rembrandt4   #ae4 ,a ,land ,storm4     
7,from the ,lansdown ,collection47      

,gaspar                                 
,poussin4   #af4 ,portrait of ,pope     
,julius the ,second4 7,from the         
,raphael4    ,lancillotti ,palace47     
#ag4 ,the ,emperor ,theodosius refused  
admittance into the       ,vandyck4     
,church by ,st4 ,ambrose4   #ah4 ,a     
,landscape1 with ,figures2 representing 
,abraham             ,gaspar            
preparing to sacrifice his son ,isaac4  
7,from the             ,poussin4        
,colonna ,palace47   #ai4 ,portrait of  
,govartius4                             
,vandyck4   #bj4 ,pan teaching ,apollo  
the use of the ,pipe4                   
,annibal                                
,caracci4   #ba4 ,a ,sea-,port at       
,sunset1 in which is represented the    
,claude4    ,legend of the ,embarkation 
of ,st4 ,ursula4 7,formerly in    the   
,barberini ,palace47   #bb4 ,erminia    
discovering the ,shepherds3 ,from       
,tasso's      ,domenichino4             
#8,jerusalem ,delivered4'   #bc4 ,philip
 the ,fourth and his ,queen4            

,velasquez4   #bd4 ,venus and ,adonis4  
7,from the ,colonna ,palace47           
,titian4   #be4 ,st4 ,john in the       
,wilderness4 7,from the ,orleans        
,annibal    ,collection47               
,caracci4   #bf4 ,a ,landscape1 with    
,figures4                               
,claude4   #bg4 ,christ raising         
,lazarus4 7,from the ,orleans           
,sebastian del    ,collection47         
,piombo4   #bh4 ,a ,concert4            
,titian4   #bi4 ,an ,italian ,sea-,port 
at ,sunset1 with ,figures4              
,claude4   #cj4 ,the ,rape of ,ganymede4
 7,from the ,colonna ,palace47          
,titian4   #ca4 ,a ,sea-,port1 in which 
is represented the ,embarkation         
,claude4    of the ,queen of ,sheba on  
her visit to ,solomon4 7,from    the    
,collection of the ,duke de ,bouillon47 
#cb4 ,a ,study of ,heads4 7,from the    
,orleans ,collection47       ,correggio4
   #cc4 ,a ,study of ,heads4 7,from the 
same ,collection47          ,correggio4 
#cd4 ,the ,rape of the ,sabine ,women4  

,rubens4   #ce4 ,the ,holy ,family1 with
 ,st4 ,george1 a ,female ,saint1        
,rubens4    and ,angels4   #cf4 ,a      
,landscape1 with ,figures2 representing 
the ,marriage      ,claude4    of       
,rebecca4 7,from the ,collection of the 
,duke de    ,bouillon47   #cg4 ,susanna 
and the ,elders4 7,from the ,orleans    
,ludov4    ,collection47                
,caracci4   #ch4 ,a ,bacchanalian       
,scene4                                 
,nich4                                  
,poussin4                               
,,the ,,dulwich ,,gallery   ,it was on  
the #eth of ,november that we went to   
see this ,gallery4 ,the morning was     
mild1 calm1 pleasant3 it was a day to   
ruminate on the object we had in view4  
,it was the time of year                
#8,when yellow leaves1 or few or none1  
do hang               ,upon the         
branches2'  their scattered gold was    
strongly contrasted with the dark green 
spiral shoots of the cedar trees that   
skirt the road2 the sun shone faint and 

watery1 as if smiling his last2 ,winter 
gently let go the hand of ,summer1 and  
the green fields1 wet with the mist1    
anticipated the return of ,spring4 ,at  
the end of a beautiful little village1  
,dulwich ,college appeared in view1 with
 modest state1 yet mindful of the olden 
time2 and the name of ,allen and his    
compeers rushed full upon the memory6   
,how many races of school-boys have     
played within its walls1 or stammered   
out a lesson1 or sauntered away their   
vacant hours in its shade3 yet1 not one 
,shakspeare is there to be found among  
them all6 ,the boy is clothed and fed   
and gets through his accidence3 but no  
trace of his youthful learning1 any more
 than of his saffron livery1 is to be   
met with in the man4 ,genius is not to  
be #8constrained by mastery4'--,nothing 
comes of these endowments and           
foundations for learning1--you might as 
well make dirt-pies1 or build houses    
with cards4 ,yet something does come of 
them too--a retreat for age1 a dream in 

youth--a feeling in the air around them1
 the memory of the past1 the hope of    
what will never be4 ,sweet are the      
studies of the school-boy1 delicious his
 idle hours6 ,fresh and gladsome is his 
waking1 balmy are his slumbers1         
book-pillowed6 ,he wears a green and    
yellow livery perhaps2 but #8green and  
yellow melancholy' comes not near him1  
or if it does1 is tempered with youth   
and innocence6 ,to thumb his ,eutropius1
 or to knuckle down at taw1 are to him  
equally delightful2 for whatever stirs  
the blood1 or inspires thought in him1  
quickens the pulse of life and joy4 ,he 
has only to feel1 in order to be happy2 
pain turns smiling from him1 and sorrow 
is only a softer kind of pleasure4 ,each
 sensation is but an unfolding of his   
new being2 care1 age1 sickness1 are idle
 words2 the musty records of antiquity  
look glossy in his sparkling eye1 and he
 clasps immortality as his future bride6
 ,the coming years hurt him not--he     
hears their sound afar off1 and is glad4

 ,see him there1 the urchin1 seated in  
the sun1 with a book in his hand1 and   
the wall at his back4 ,he has a thicker 
wall before him--the wall that parts him
 from the future4 ,he sees not the      
archers taking aim at his peace2 he     
knows not the hands that are to mangle  
his bosom4 ,he stirs not1 he still pores
 upon his book1 and1 as he reads1 a     
slight hectic flush passes over his     
cheek1 for he sees the letters that     
compose the word ,,fame glitter on the  
page1 and his eyes swim1 and he thinks  
that he will one day write a book1 and  
have his name repeated by thousands of  
readers1 and assume a certain signature1
 and write ,essays and ,criticisms in a 
,,london ,,magazine1 as a consummation  
of felicity scarcely to be believed4    
,come hither1 thou poor little fellow1  
and let us change places with thee if   
thou wilt2 here1 take the pen and finish
 this article1 and sign what name you   
please to it2 so that we may but change 
our dress for yours1 and sit shivering  

in the sun1 and con over our little     
task1 and feed poor1 and lie hard1 and  
be contented and happy1 and think what a
 fine thing it is to be an author1 and  
dream of immortality1 and sleep         
o'nights6  ,there is something affecting
 and monastic in the sight of this      
little nursery of learning1 simple and  
retired as it stands1 just on the verge 
of the metropolis1 and in the midst of  
modern improvements4 ,there is a chapel1
 containing a copy of ,raphael's        
,transfiguration1 by ,julio ,romano3 but
 the great attraction to curiosity at   
present is the ,collection of pictures  
left to the ,college by the late ,sir   
,francis ,bourgeois1 who is buried in a 
mausoleum close by4 ,he once 7it is     
said7 spent an agreeable day here in    
company with the ,masters of the        
,college and some other friends2 and he 
determined1 in consequence1 upon this   
singular mode of testifying his         
gratitude and his respect4 ,perhaps1    
also1 some such idle thoughts as we have

 here recorded might have mingled with  
this resolution4 ,the contemplation and 
the approach of death might have been   
softened to his mind by being associated
 with the hopes of childhood2 and he    
might wish that his remains should      
repose1 in monumental state1 amidst     
#8the innocence and simplicity of poor  
,charity ,boys6' ,might it not have been
 so8  ,the pictures are #cef in number1 
and are hung on the walls of a large    
gallery1 built for the purpose1 and     
divided into five compartments4 ,they   
certainly looked better in their old    
places1 at the house of ,mr4 ,desenfans 
7the original collector71 where they    
were distributed into a number of small 
rooms1 and seen separately and close to 
the eye4 ,they are mostly               
cabinet-pictures2 and not only does the 
height1 at which many of them are       
necessarily hung to cover a large space1
 lessen the effect1 but the number      
distracts and deadens the attention4    
,besides1 the skylights are so contrived

 as to #8shed a dim1' though not a      
#8religious light' upon them4 ,at our   
entrance1 we were first struck by our   
old friends the ,cuyps2 and just beyond1
 caught a glimpse of that fine female   
head by ,carlo ,maratti1 giving us a    
welcome with cordial glances4 ,may we   
not exclaim--              #8,what a    
delicious breath painting sends forth6  
,the violet-bed's not sweeter4'  ,a fine
 gallery of pictures is a sort of       
illustration of ,berkeley's ,theory of  
,matter and ,spirit4 ,it is like a      
palace of thought--another universe1    
built of air1 of shadows1 of colours4   
,every thing seems #8palpable to feeling
 as to sight4' ,substances turn to      
shadows by the painter's arch-chemic    
touch2 shadows harden into substances4  
#8,the eye is made the fool of the other
 senses1 or else worth all the rest4'   
,the material is in some sense embodied 
in the immaterial1 or1 at least1 we see 
all things in a sort of intellectual    
mirror4 ,the world of art is an         

enchanting deception4 ,we discover      
distance in a glazed surface2 a province
 is contained in a foot of canvass2 a   
thin evanescent tint gives the form and 
pressure of rocks and trees2 an inert   
shape has life and motion in it4 ,time  
stands still1 and the dead re-appear1 by
 means of this #8so potent art6' ,look  
at the ,cuyp next the door 7,no4 #c74   
,it is woven of etherial hues4 ,a soft  
mist is on it1 a veil of subtle air4    
,the tender green of the vallies beyond 
the gleaming lake1 the purple light of  
the hills1 have an effect like the down 
on an unripe nectarine4 ,you may lay    
your finger on the canvass2 but miles of
 dewy vapour and sunshine are between   
you and the objects you survey4 ,it is  
almost needless to point out that the   
cattle and figures in the fore-ground1  
like dark1 transparent spots1 give an   
immense relief to the perspective4 ,this
 is1 we think1 the finest ,cuyp1        
perhaps1 in the world4 ,the landscape   
opposite to it 7in the same room7 by    

,albert ,cuyp1 has a richer colouring   
and a stronger contrast of light and    
shade1 but it has not that tender bloom 
of a spring morning 7so delicate1 yet so
 powerful in its effect7 which the other
 possesses4 ,two ,horses1 by ,cuyp 7,no4
 #gd71 is another admirable specimen of 
this excellent painter4 ,it is hard to  
say1 which is most true to nature--the  
sleek1 well-fed look of the bay horse1  
or the bone and spirit of the dappled   
iron-grey one1 or the face of the man   
who is busy fastening a girth4 ,nature  
is scarcely more faithful to itself1    
than this delightfully unmannered1      
unaffected picture is to it4 ,in the    
same room there are several good        
,tenierses1 and a small ,head of an old 
,man1 by ,rembrandt1 which is as        
smoothly finished as a miniature4 ,no4  
#aj1 ,interior of an ,ale-house1 by     
,adrian ,brouwer1 almost gives one a    
sick head-ache2 particularly1 the face  
and figure of the man leaning against   
the door1 overcome with #8potations     

pottle deep4' ,brouwer united the depth 
and richness of ,ostade to the spirit   
and felicity of ,teniers4 ,no4 #ab1     
,sleeping ,nymph and ,satyr1 and #ei1   
,nymph and ,satyr1 by ,polemberg1 are   
not pictures to our taste4 ,why should  
any one make it a rule never to paint   
any thing but this one subject8 ,was it 
to please himself or others8 ,the one   
shows bad taste1 the other wrong        
judgment4 ,the grossness of the         
selection is hardly more offensive than 
the finicalness of the execution4 ,no4  
#di1 a ,mater ,dolorosa1 by ,carlo      
,dolce1 is a very good specimen of this 
master2 but the expression has too great
 a mixture of piety and pauperism in it4
 ,it is not altogether spiritual4 ,no4  
#ea1 ,a ,school with ,girls at work1 by 
,crespi1 is a most rubbishly            
performance1 and has the look of a      
modern picture4 ,it was1 no doubt1      
painted in the fashion of the time1 and 
is now old-fashioned4 ,every thing has  
this modern1 or rather uncouth and      

obsolete look1 which1 besides the       
temporary and local circumstances1 has  
not the free look of nature4 ,dress a   
figure in what costume you please       
7however fantastic1 however barbarous71 
but add the expression which is common  
to all faces1 the properties that are   
common to all drapery in its elementary 
principles1 and the picture will belong 
to all times and places4 ,it is not the 
addition of individual circumstances1   
but the omission of general truth1 that 
makes the little1 the deformed1 and the 
short-lived in art4 ,no4 #ahc1 ,religion
 in the ,desart1 a sketch by ,sir       
,francis ,bourgeois1 is a proof of this 
remark4 ,there are no details1 nor is   
there any appearance of permanence or   
stability about it4 ,it seems to have   
been painted yesterday1 and to labour   
under premature decay4 ,it has a look of
 being half done1 and you have no wish  
to see it finished4 ,no4 #ec1 ,interior 
of a ,cathedral1 by ,sanadram1 is       
curious and fine4 ,from one end of the  

perspective to the other--and back      
again--would make a morning's walk4  ,in
 the ,,second ,,room1 ,no4 #ij1 a ,sea  
,storm1 by ,backhuysen1 and ,no4 #ic1 ,a
 ,calm1 by ,w4 ,vandervelde1 are equally
 excellent1 the one for its gloomy      
turbulence1 and the other for its glassy
 smoothness4 #ib1 ,landscape with       
,cattle and ,figures1 is by ,both1 who  
is1 we confess1 no great favourite of   
ours4 ,we do not like his straggling    
branches of trees without masses of     
foliage1 continually running up into the
 sky1 merely to let in the landscape    
beyond4 ,no4 #if1 ,blowing ,hot and     
,cold1 by ,jordaens1 is as fine a       
picture as need be painted4 ,it is full 
of character1 of life1 and pleasing     
colour4 ,it is rich and not gross4 #ih1 
,portrait of a ,lady1 said in the       
printed ,catalogue to be by ,andrea     
,sacchi1 is surely by ,carlo ,maratti1  
to whom it used to be given4 ,it has    
great beauty1 great elegance1 great     
expression1 and great brilliancy of     

execution2 but every thing in it belongs
 to a more polished style of art than   
,andrea ,sacchi4 ,be this as it may1 it 
is one of the most perfect pictures in  
the collection4 ,of the portraits of    
known individuals in this room1 we wish 
to say but little1 for we can say       
nothing good4 ,that of ,mr4 ,kemble1 by 
,beechey1 is perhaps the most direct and
 manly4 ,in this room is ,rubens's      
,sampson and ,delilah1 a coarse daub--at
 least1 it looks so between two pictures
 by ,vandyke1 ,charity1 and a ,madonna  
and ,infant ,christ4 ,that painter      
probably never produced any thing more  
complete than these two compositions4   
,they have the softness of air1 the     
solidity of marble3 the pencil appears  
to float and glide over the features of 
the face1 the folds of the drapery1 with
 easy volubility1 but to mark every     
thing with a precision1 a force1 a grace
 indescribable4 ,truth seems to hold the
 pencil1 and elegance to guide it4 ,the 
attitudes are exquisite1 and the        

expression all but divine4 ,it is not   
like ,raphael's1 it is true--but whose  
else was8 ,vandyke was born in ,holland1
 and lived most of his time in          
,england6--,there are several capital   
pictures of horses1 c4 by ,wouvermans1  
in the same room1 particularly the one  
with a hay-cart loading on the top of a 
rising ground4 ,the composition is as   
striking and pleasing as the execution  
is delicate4 ,there is immense knowledge
 and character in ,wouvermans'          
horses--an ear1 an eye turned round1 a  
cropped tail1 give you their history and
 thoughts--but from the want of a little
 arrangement1 his figures look too often
 like spots on a dark ground4 ,when they
 are properly relieved and disentangled 
from the rest of the composition1 there 
is an appearance of great life and      
bustle in his pictures4 ,his horses1    
however1 have too much of the mange in  
them--he seldom gets beyond the camp or 
the riding school4--,this room is rich  
in master-pieces4 ,here is the ,jacob's 

,dream1 by ,rembrandt1 with that        
sleeping figure1 thrown like a bundle of
 clothes in one corner of the picture1  
by the side of some stunted bushes1 and 
with those winged shapes1 not human1 nor
 angelical1 but bird-like1 dream-like1  
treading on clouds1 ascending1          
descending through the realms of endless
 light1 that loses itself in infinite   
space6 ,no one else could ever grapple  
with this subject1 or stamp it on the   
willing canvass in its gorgeous         
obscurity but ,rembrandt6 ,here also is 
the ,st4 ,barbara1 of ,rubens1 fleeing  
from her persecutors2 a noble design1 as
 if she were scaling the steps of some  
high overhanging turret1 moving         
majestically on1 with ,fear before her1 
,death behind her1 and ,martyrdom       
crowning her3--and here is an eloquent  
landscape by the same master-hand1 the  
subject of which is1 a shepherd piping  
his flock homewards through a narrow    
defile1 with a graceful group of        
autumnal trees waving on the edge of the

 declivity above1 and the rosy evening  
light streaming through the clouds on   
the green moist landscape in the still  
lengthening distance4 ,here 7to pass    
from one kind of excellence to another  
with kindly interchange7 is a clear     
sparkling ,waterfall1 by ,ruysdael1 and 
,hobbima's ,water-,mill1 with the wheels
 in motion1 and the ducks paddling in   
the restless stream4 ,is not this a sad 
anti-climax from ,jacob's ,dream to a   
picture of a ,water-,mill8 ,we do not   
know2 and we should care as little1     
could we but paint either of the        
pictures4                  #8,entire    
affection scorneth nicer hands4'  ,if a 
picture is admirable in its kind1 we do 
not give ourselves much trouble about   
the subject4 ,could we paint as well as 
,hobbima1 we should not envy ,rembrandt3
 nay1 even as it is1 while we can relish
 both1 we envy neither6  ,the ,,centre  
,,room commences with a ,girl at a      
,window1 by ,rembrandt4 ,the picture is 
known by the print of it1 and is one of 

the most remarkable and pleasing in the 
,collection4 ,for clearness1 for        
breadth1 for a lively1 ruddy look of    
healthy nature1 it cannot be surpassed4 
,the execution of the drapery is        
masterly4 ,there is a story told of its 
being his servant-maid looking out of a 
window1 but it is evidently the portrait
 of a mere child4--,a ,farrier shoeing  
an ,ass1 by ,berchem1 is in his usual   
manner4 ,there is truth of character and
 delicate finishing2 but the fault of   
all ,berchem's pictures is1 that he     
continues to finish after he has done   
looking at nature1 and his last touches 
are different from hers4 ,hence comes   
that resemblance to tea-board painting1 
which even his best works are chargeable
 with4 ,we find here one or two small   
,claudes of no great value2 and two very
 clever specimens of the court-painter1 
,watteau1 the ,gainsborough of ,france4 
,they are marked as ,nos4 #ahd and #aid1
 ,fte ,champtre1 and ,le ,bal ,champtre4
 ,there is something exceedingly light1 

agreeable1 and characteristic in this   
artist's productions4 ,he might almost  
be said to breathe his figures and his  
flowers on the canvas--so fragile is    
their texture1 so evanescent is his     
touch4 ,he unites the court and the     
country at a sort of salient point--you 
may fancy yourself with ,count ,grammont
 and the beauties of ,charles ,,ii4 in  
their gay retreat at ,tunbridge ,wells4 
,his trees have a drawing-room air with 
them1 an appearance of gentility and    
etiquette1 and nod gracefully over-head2
 while the figures below1 thin as air1  
and vegetably clad1 in the midst of all 
their affectation and grimace1 seem to  
have just sprung out of the ground1 or  
to be the fairy inhabitants of the scene
 in masquerade4 ,they are the ,oreads   
and ,dryads of the ,luxembourg6 ,quaint 
association1 happily effected by the    
pencil of ,watteau6 ,in the ,bal        
,champtre we see ,louis ,,xiv4 himself  
dancing1 looking so like an old beau1   
his face flushed and puckered up with   

gay anxiety2 but then the satin of his  
slashed doublet is made of the softest  
leaves of the water-lily2 ,zephyr plays 
wanton with the curls of his wig6 ,we   
have nobody who could produce a         
companion to this picture now3 nor do we
 very devoutly wish it4 ,the ,louis the 
,fourteenths are extinct1 and we suspect
 their revival would hardly be          
compensated even by the re-appearance of
 a ,watteau4--,no4 #ahg1 the ,death of  
,cardinal ,beaufort1 by ,sir ,joshua    
,reynolds1 is a very indifferent and    
rather unpleasant sketch of a very fine 
picture4 ,one of the most delightful    
things in this delightful collection is 
the ,portrait 7#aie7 of the ,prince of  
the ,austurias1 by ,velasquez4 ,the easy
 lightness of the childish ,prince      
contrasts delightfully with the unwieldy
 figure of the horse1 which has         
evidently been brought all the way from 
the ,low ,countries for the amusement of
 his rider4 ,velasquez was 7with only   
two exceptions1 ,titian and ,vandyke7 as

 fine a portrait-painter as ever lived6 
,in the centre room also is the ,meeting
 of ,jacob and ,rachel1 by ,murillo--a  
sweet picture with a fresh green        
landscape1 and the heart of ,love in the
 midst of it4--,there are several heads 
by ,holbein scattered up and down the   
different compartments4 ,we need hardly 
observe that they all have character in 
the extreme1 so that we may be said to  
be acquainted with the people they      
represent2 but then they give nothing   
but character1 and only one part of     
that1 viz4 the dry1 the literal1 the    
concrete1 and fixed4 ,they want the     
addition of passion and beauty2 but they
 are the finest caput mortuums of       
expression that ever were made4 ,hans   
,holbein had none of the volatile       
essence of genius in his composition4   
,if portrait-painting is the prose of   
the art1 his pictures are the prose of  
portrait-painting4 ,yet he is #8a       
reverend name' in art1 and one of the   
benefactors of the human mind4 ,he has  

left faces behind him that we would give
 the world to have seen1 and there they 
are--stamped on his canvass for ever6   
,who1 in reading over the names of      
certain individuals1 does not feel a    
yearning in his breast to know their    
features and their lineaments8 ,we look 
through a small frame1 and lo6 at the   
distance of three centuries1 we have    
before us the figures of ,anne ,boleyn1 
of the virtuous ,cranmer1 the bigoted   
,queen ,mary1 the noble ,surrey--as if  
we had seen them in their life-time1 not
 perhaps in their best moods or happiest
 attitudes1 but as they sometimes       
appeared1 no doubt4 ,we know at least   
what sort of looking people they were3  
our minds are made easy on that score2  
the #8body and limbs' are there1 and we 
may #8add what flourishes' of grace or  
ornament we please4 ,holbein's heads are
 to the finest portraits what           
state-papers are to history4  ,the first
 picture in the ,,fourth ,,room is the  
,prophet ,samuel1 by ,sir ,joshua4 ,it  

is not the ,prophet ,samuel1 but a very 
charming picture of a little child      
saying its prayers4 ,the second is1 ,the
 ,education of ,bacchus1 by ,nicholas   
,poussin4 ,this picture makes one       
thirsty to look at it--the colouring    
even is dry and adust4 ,it is true      
history in the technical phrase1 that is
 to say1 true poetry in the vulgate4    
,the figure of the infant ,bacchus seems
 as if he would drink up a vintage--he  
drinks with his mouth1 his hands1 his   
belly1 and his whole body4 ,gargantua   
was nothing to him4 ,in the ,education  
of ,jupiter1 in like manner1 we are     
thrown back into the infancy of         
mythologic lore4 ,the little ,jupiter1  
suckled by a she-goat1 is beautifully   
conceived and expressed2 and the dignity
 and ascendancy given to these animals  
in the picture is wonderfully happy4    
,they have a very imposing air of       
gravity indeed1 and seem to be by       
prescription #8grand caterers and       
wet-nurses of the state' of ,heaven6    

,apollo giving a ,poet a ,cup of ,water 
to drink is elegant and classical2 and  
,the ,flight into ,egypt instantly takes
 the tone of ,scripture-history4 ,this  
is strange1 but so it is4 ,all things   
are possible to a high imagination4 ,all
 things1 about which we have a feeling1 
may be expressed by true genius4 ,a dark
 landscape 7by the same hand7 in a      
corner of the room is a proof of this4  
,there are trees in the fore-ground1    
with a paved road and buildings in the  
distance4 ,the ,genius of antiquity     
might wander here1 and feel itself at   
home4--,the large leaves are wet and    
heavy with dew1 and the eye dwells      
#8under the shade of melancholy boughs4'
 ,in the old collection 7in ,mr4        
,desenfans' time7 the ,poussins occupied
 a separated room by themselves1 and it 
was 7we confess7 a very favourite room  
with us4--,no4 #bbf1 is a ,landscape1 by
 ,salvator ,rosa4 ,it is one of his very
 best--rough1 grotesque1 wild--,pan has 
struck it with his hoof--the trees1 the 

rocks1 the fore-ground1 are of a piece1 
and the figures are subordinate to the  
landscape4 ,the same dull sky lowers    
upon the scene1 and the bleak air chills
 the crisp surface of the water4 ,it is 
a consolation to us to meet with a fine 
,salvator4 ,his is one of the great     
names in art1 and it is among our       
sources of regret that we cannot always 
admire his works as we would do1 from   
our respect to his reputation and our   
love of the man4 ,poor ,salvator6 he was
 unhappy in his life-time2 and it vexes 
us to think that we cannot make him     
amends by fancying him so great a       
painter as some others1 whose fame was  
not their only inheritance6--#bbg1      
,venus and ,cupid1 is a delightful copy 
after ,correggio4 ,we have no such      
regrets or qualms of conscience with    
respect to him4 #8,he has had his       
reward4' ,the weight of his renown      
balances the weight of barbarous coin   
that sunk him to the earth4 ,could he   
live now1 and know what others think of 

him1 his misfortunes would seem as dross
 compared with his lasting glory1 and   
his heart would melt within him at the  
thought1 with a sweetness that only his 
own pencil could express4 #bcc1 ,the    
,virgin1 ,infant ,christ1 and ,st4      
,john1 by ,andrea del ,sarto1 is        
exceedingly good4--#bij1 ,another ,holy 
,family1 by the same1 is an admirable   
picture1 and only inferior to ,raphael4 
,it has delicacy1 force1 thought1 and   
feeling4 #8,what lacks it then1' to be  
equal to ,raphael8 ,we hardly know1     
unless it be a certain firmness and     
freedom1 and glowing animation4 ,the    
execution is more timid and laboured4   
,it looks like a picture 7an exquisite  
one1 indeed71 but ,raphael's look like  
the divine reality itself6--,no4 #bcd1  
,cocles defending the ,bridge1 is by ,le
 ,brun4 ,we do not like this picture1   
nor #bga1 ,the ,massacre of the         
,innocents1 by the same artist4 ,one    
reason is that they are ,french1 and    
another that they are not good4 ,they   

have great merit1 it is true1 but their 
merits are only splendid sins4 ,they are
 mechanical1 mannered1 colourless1 and  
unfeeling4--,no4 #bcg1 is ,murillo's    
,spanish ,girl with ,flowers4 ,the sun  
tinted the young gipsey's complexion1   
and not the painter4--,no4 #bdj1 is ,the
 ,casatella and ,villa of ,mcenas1 near 
,tivoli1 by ,wilson1 with his own       
portrait in the fore-ground4 ,it is an  
imperfect sketch2 but there is a curious
 anecdote relating to it1 that he was so
 delighted with the waterfall itself1   
that he cried out1 while painting it3   
#8,well done1 water1 by ,g--d6'--,no4   
#bdc1 ,saint ,cecilia1 by ,guercino1 is 
a very pleasing picture1 in his least   
gaudy manner4--,no4 #bea1 ,venus and    
,adonis1 by ,titian4 ,we see so many of 
these ,venuses and ,adonises1 that we   
should like to know which is the true   
one4 ,this is one of the best we have   
seen4 ,we have two ,francesco ,molas in 
this room1 the ,rape of ,proserpine1 and
 a ,landscape with a ,holy ,family4     

,this artist dipped his pencil so       
thoroughly in ,titian's palette1 that   
his works cannot fail to have that rich1
 mellow look1 which is always           
delightful4--,no4 #cjc1 ,portrait of    
,philip the ,fourth of ,spain1 by       
,velasquez1 is purity and truth itself4 
,we used to like the ,sleeping ,nymph1  
by ,titian1 when we saw it formerly in  
the little entrance-room at ,desenfans'1
 but we cannot say much in its praise   
here4  ,the ,,fifth ,,room is the       
smallest1 but the most precious in its  
contents4--,no4 #cbb1 ,spanish ,beggar  
,boys1 by ,murillo1 is the triumph of   
this ,collection1 and almost of         
painting4 ,in the imitation of common   
life1 nothing ever went beyond it1 or as
 far as we can judge1 came up to it4 ,a 
,dutch picture is mechanical1 and mere  
still-life to it4 ,but this is life     
itself4 ,the boy at play on the ground  
is miraculous4 ,it is done with a few   
dragging strokes of the pencil1 and with
 a little tinge of colour2 but the      

mouth1 the nose1 the eyes1 the chin1 are
 as brimful as they can hold of         
expression1 of arch roguery1 of animal  
spirits1 of vigorous1 elastic health4   
,the vivid1 glowing1 cheerful look is   
such as could only be found beneath a   
southern sun4 ,the fens and dykes of    
,holland 7with all our respect for them7
 could never produce such an epitome of 
the vital principle4 ,the other boy1    
standing up with the pitcher in his     
hand1 and a crust of bread in his mouth1
 is scarcely less excellent4 ,his sulky1
 phlegmatic indifference speaks for     
itself4 ,the companion to this picture1 
#cbd1 is also very fine4 ,compared with 
these imitations of nature1 as faultless
 as they are spirited1 ,murillo's       
,virgins and ,angels however good in    
themselves1 look vapid1 and even vulgar4
 ,a ,child ,sleeping1 by the same       
painter1 is a beautiful and masterly    
study4--,no4 #cbi1 a ,musical ,party1 by
 ,giorgione1 is well worthy of the      
notice of the connoisseur4 ,no4 #cca1   

,st4 ,john ,preaching in the            
,wilderness1 by ,guido1 is an           
extraordinary picture1 and very unlike  
this painter's usual manner4 ,the colour
 is as if the flesh had been stained all
 over with brick-dust4 ,there is1       
however1 a wildness about it which      
accords well with the subject1 and the  
figure of ,st4 ,john is full of grace   
and gusto4--,no4 #cdd1 ,the ,martyrdom  
of ,st4 ,sebastian1 by the same1 is much
 finer1 both as to execution and        
expression4 ,the face is imbued with    
deep passion4--,no4 #cde1 ,portrait of a
 ,man1 by ,l4 da ,vinci1 is truly simple
 and grand1 and at once carries you back
 to that age4--,boors ,merry ,making1 by
 ,ostade1 is fine2 but has no business  
where it is4 ,yet it takes up very      
little room4--,no4 #cdg1 ,portrait of   
,mrs4 ,siddons1 in the character of the 
,tragic ,muse1 by ,sir ,joshua1 appears 
to us to resemble neither ,mrs4         
,siddons1 nor the ,tragic ,muse4 ,it is 
in a bastard style of art4 ,sir ,joshua 

had an importunate theory of improving  
upon nature4 ,he might improve upon     
indifferent nature1 but when he had got 
the finest1 he thought to improve upon  
that too1 and only spoiled it4--,no4    
#cdi1 ,the ,virgin and ,child1 by       
,correggio1 can only be a copy4--,no4   
#ccb1 ,the ,judgment of ,paris1 by      
,vanderwerf1 is a picture1 and by a     
master1 that we hate4 ,he always chooses
 for his subjects naked figures of      
women1 and tantalises us by making them 
of coloured ivory4 ,they are like       
hard-ware toys4--,no4 #ced1 a ,cardinal 
,blessing a ,priest1 by ,p4 ,veronese1  
is dignified and picturesque in the     
highest degree4--,no4 #cee1 ,the        
,adoration of the ,shepherds1 by        
,annibal ,caracci1 is an elaborate1 but 
not very successful performance4--,no4  
#cef1 ,christ bearing his ,cross1 by    
,morales1 concludes the list1 and is    
worthy to conclude it4                  
,,the ,,marquis ,,of ,,stafford',s      
,,gallery   ,our intercourse with the   

dead is better than our intercourse with
 the living4 ,there are only three      
pleasures in life1 pure and lasting1 and
 all derived from inanimate             
things--books1 pictures1 and the face of
 nature4 ,what is the world but a heap  
of ruined friendships1 but the grave of 
love8 ,all other pleasures are as false 
and hollow1 vanishing from our embrace  
like smoke1 or like a feverish dream4   
,scarcely can we recollect that they    
were1 or recall without an effort the   
anxious and momentary interest we took  
in them4--,but thou1 oh6 divine ,bath of
 ,diana1 with deep azure eyes1 with     
roseate hues1 spread by the hand of     
,titian1 art still there upon the wall1 
another1 yet the same that thou wert    
five-and-twenty years ago1 nor wantest  
----#8,forked mountain or blue          
promontory                ,with ,trees  
upon't that nod unto the world1         
,and mock our eyes with air6'  ,and lo6 
over the clear lone brow of ,tuderley   
and ,norman ,court1 knit into the web   

and fibres of our heart1 the sighing    
grove waves in the autumnal air1        
deserted by ,love1 by ,hope1 but forever
 haunted by ,memory6 ,and there that    
fine passage stands in ,antony and      
,cleopatra as we read it long ago with  
exalting eyes in ,paris1 after puzzling 
over a tragedy of ,racine's1 and cried  
aloud3 #8,our ,shakspeare was also a    
poet6' ,these feelings are dear to us at
 the time2 and they come back           
unimpaired1 heightened1 mellowed1       
whenever we choose to go back to them4  
,we turn over the leaf and #8volume of  
the brain1' and there see them face to  
face4--,marina in ,pericles complains   
that            #8,life is as a storm   
hurrying her from her friends6'  ,not so
 from the friends above-mentioned4 ,if  
we bring but an eye1 an understanding1  
and a heart to them1 we find them always
 with us1 always the same4 ,the change1 
if there is one1 is in us1 not in them4 
,oh6 thou then1 whoever thou art1 that  
dost seek happiness in thyself1         

independent on others1 not subject to   
caprice1 not mocked by insult1 not      
snatched away by ruthless hands1 over   
which ,time has no power1 and that      
,death alone cancels1 seek it 7if thou  
art wise7 in books1 in pictures1 and the
 face of nature1 for these alone we may 
count upon as friends for life6 ,while  
we are true to ourselves1 they will not 
be faithless to us4 ,while we remember  
any thing1 we cannot forget them4 ,as   
long as we have a wish for pleasure1 we 
may find it here2 for it depends only on
 our love for them1 and not on theirs   
for us4 ,the enjoyment is purely ideal1 
and is refined1 unembittered1 unfading1 
for that reason4  ,a complaint has been 
made of the short-lived duration of     
works of art1 and particularly of       
pictures2 and poets more especially are 
apt to lament and to indulge in an      
elegiac strain over the fragile beauties
 of the sister-art4 ,the complaint is   
inconsiderate1 if not invidious4 ,they  
will last our time4 ,nay1 they have     

lasted centuries before us1 and will    
last centuries after us2 and even when  
they are no more1 will leave a shadow   
and a cloud of glory behind them1       
through all time4 ,lord ,bacon exclaims 
triumphantly1 #8,have not the poems of  
,homer lasted five-and-twenty hundred   
years1 and not a syllable of them is    
lost8' ,but it might be asked in return1
 #8,have not many of the ,greek statues 
now lasted almost as long1 without      
losing a particle of their splendour or 
their meaning1 while the ,iliad 7except 
to a very few7 has become almost a dead 
letter8' ,has not the ,venus of ,medicis
 had almost as many partisans and       
admirers as the ,helen of the old blind 
bard8 ,besides1 what has ,phidias gained
 in reputation even by the discovery of 
the ,elgin ,marbles8 ,or is not ,michael
 ,angelo's the greatest name in modern  
art1 whose works we only know from      
description and by report8 ,surely1     
there is something in a name1 in        
wide-spread reputation1 in endless      

renown1 to satisfy the ambition of the  
mind of man4 ,who in his works would vie
 immortality with nature8 ,an epitaph1  
an everlasting monument in the dim      
remembrance of ages1 is enough below the
 skies4 ,moreover1 the sense of final   
inevitable decay humanises1 and gives an
 affecting character to the triumphs of 
exalted art4 ,imperishable works        
executed by perishable hands are a sort 
of insult to our nature1 and almost a   
contradiction in terms4 ,they are       
ungrateful children1 and mock the       
makers4 ,neither is the noble idea of   
antiquity legibly made out without the  
marks of the progress and lapse of time4
 ,that which is as good now as ever it  
was1 seems a thing of yesterday4        
,nothing is old to the imagination that 
does not appear to grow old4 ,ruins are 
grander and more venerable than any     
modern structure can be1 or than the    
oldest could be if kept in the most     
entire preservation4 ,they convey the   
perspective of time4 ,so the ,elgin     

,marbles are more impressive from their 
mouldering1 imperfect state4 ,they      
transport us to the ,parthenon1 and old 
,greece4 ,the ,theseus is of the age of 
,theseus3 while the ,apollo ,belvidere  
is a modern fine gentleman2 and we think
 of this last figure only as an ornament
 to the room where it happens to be     
placed4--,we conceive that those are    
persons of narrow minds who cannot      
relish an author's style that smacks of 
time1 that has a crust of antiquity over
 it1 like that which gathers upon old   
wine4 ,these sprinklings of archaisms   
and obsolete turns of expression 7so    
abhorrent to the fashionable reader7 are
 intellectual links that connect the    
generations together1 and enlarge our   
knowledge of language and of nature4 ,of
 the two1 we prefer black-letter to     
hot-pressed paper4 ,does not every      
language change and wear out8 ,do not   
the most popular writers become quaint  
and old-fashioned every fifty or every  
hundred years8 ,is there not a constant 

conflict of taste and opinion between   
those who adhere to the established and 
triter modes of expression1 and those   
who affect glossy innovations1 in       
advance of the age8 ,it is pride enough 
for the best authors to have been read4 
,this applies to their own country2 and 
to all others1 they are #8a book        
sealed4' ,but ,rubens is as good in     
,holland as he is in ,flanders1 where he
 was born1 in ,italy or in ,spain1 in   
,england1 or in ,scotland--no1 there    
alone he is not understood4 ,the ,scotch
 understand nothing but what is ,scotch4
 ,what has the dry1 husky1 economic eye 
of ,scotland to do with the florid hues 
and luxuriant extravagance of ,rubens8  
,nothing4 ,they like ,wilkie's pauper   
style better4 ,it may be said that      
translations remedy the want of         
universality of language3 but prints    
give 7at least7 as good an idea of      
pictures as translations do of poems1 or
 of any productions of the press that   
employ the colouring of style and       

imagination4 ,gil ,blas is              
translateable2 ,racine and ,rousseau are
 not4 ,the mere ,english student knows  
more of the character and spirit of     
,raphael's pictures in the ,vatican1    
than he does of ,ariosto or ,tasso from 
,hoole's ,version4 ,there is1 however1  
one exception to the catholic language  
of painting1 which is in ,french        
pictures4 ,they are national fixtures1  
and ought never to be removed from the  
soil in which they grow4 ,they will not 
answer any where else1 nor are they     
worth ,custom-,house ,duties4 ,flemish1 
,dutch1 ,spanish1 ,italian1 are all good
 and intelligible in their several      
ways--we know what they mean--they      
require no interpreter3 but the ,french 
painters see nature with organs and with
 minds peculiarly their own4 ,one must  
be born in ,france to understand their  
painting1 or their poetry4 ,their       
productions in art are either literal1  
or extravagant--dry1 frigid fac-similes1
 in which they seem to take up nature by

 pin-points1 or else vapid distorted    
caricatures1 out of all rule and        
compass4 ,they are1 in fact1 at home    
only in the light and elegant2 and      
whenever they attempt to add force or   
solidity 7as they must do in the severer
 productions of the pencil7 they are    
compelled to substitute an excess of    
minute industry for a comprehension of  
the whole1 or make a desperate          
mechanical effort at extreme expression1
 instead of giving the true1 natural1   
and powerful workings of passion4 ,their
 representations of nature are meagre   
skeletons1 that bear the same relation  
to the originals that botanical         
specimens1 enclosed in a portfolio1     
flat1 dry1 hard1 and pithless1 do to    
flourishing plants and shrubs4 ,their   
historical figures are painful outlines1
 or graduated elevations of the common  
statues1 spiritless1 colourless1        
motionless1 which have the form1 but    
none of the power of the antique4 ,what 
an abortive attempt is the ,coronation  

of ,napoleon1 by the celebrated ,david1 
lately exhibited in this country6 ,it   
looks like a finished sign-post         
painting--a sea of frozen               
outlines4--,could the artist make       
nothing of #8the foremost man in all    
this world1' but a stiff1 upright       
figure8 ,the figure and attitude of the 
,empress are1 however1 pretty and       
graceful2 and we recollect one face in  
profile1 of an ecclesiastic1 to the     
right1 with a sanguine look of health in
 the complexion1 and a large benevolence
 of soul4 ,it is not ,monsieur          
,talleyrand1 whom the late ,lord        
,castlereagh characterised as a worthy  
man and his friend4 ,his ,lordship was  
not a physiognomist6 ,the whole of the  
shadowed part of the picture seems to be
 enveloped in a shower of blue          
powder4--,but to make amends for all    
that there is or that there is not in   
the work1 ,david has introduced his wife
 and his two daughters2 and in the      
,catalogue has given us the places of   

abode1 and the names of the husbands of 
the latter4 ,this is a little out of    
place3 yet these are the people who     
laugh at our blunders4 ,we do not mean  
to extend the above sweeping censure to 
,claude1 or ,poussin3 of course they are
 excepted3 but even in them the national
 character lurked amidst unrivalled     
excellence4 ,if ,claude has a fault1 it 
is that he is finical2 and ,poussin's   
figures might be said by a satirist to  
be antique puppets4 ,to proceed to our  
task4--  ,the first picture that struck 
us on entering the ,marquis of          
,stafford's ,gallery 7a little          
bewildered as we were with old          
recollections1 and present objects7 was 
the ,meeting of ,christ and ,st4 ,john1 
one of ,raphael's master-pieces4 ,the   
eager #8child-worship' of the young ,st4
 ,john1 the modest retirement and       
dignified sweetness of the ,christ1 and 
the graceful1 matron-like air of the    
,virgin bending over them1 full and     
noble1 yet feminine and elegant1 cannot 

be surpassed4 ,no words can describe    
them to those who have not seen the     
picture3--the attempt is still vainer to
 those who have4 ,there is1 however1 a  
very fine engraving of this picture1    
which may be had for a trifling         
sum4--,no glory is around the head of   
the ,mother1 nor is it needed3 but the  
soul of the painter sheds its influence 
over it like a dove1 and the spirit of  
love1 sanctity1 beauty1 breathes from   
the divine group4 ,there are four       
,raphaels 7,holy ,families7 in this     
collection1 two others by the side of   
this in his early more precise and      
affected manner1 somewhat faded1 and a  
small one of the ,virgin1 ,sleeping     
,jesus1 and ,st4 ,john1 in his finest   
manner4 ,there is1 or there was1 a      
duplicate of this picture 7of which the 
engraving is also common7 in the        
,louvre1 which was certainly superior to
 the one at the ,marquis of ,stafford's4
 ,the colouring of the drapery in that  
too was cold1 and the face of the       

,virgin thin and poor2 but never was    
infancy laid asleep more calmly1 more   
sweetly1 more soundly1 than in the      
figure of ,our ,saviour--the little     
pouting mouth seemed to drink balmy1    
innocent sleep--and the rude expression 
of wonder and delight in the more       
robust1 sun-burnt1 fur-clad figure of   
,st4 ,john was as spirited in itself as 
it was striking1 when contrasted with   
the meeker beauties of the figure       
opposed to it4--,from these we turn to  
the ,four ,ages1 by ,titian1 or         
,giorgione1 as some say4 ,strange that  
there should have lived two men in the  
same age1 on the same spot of earth1    
with respect to whom it should bear a   
question--which of them painted such a  
picture6 ,barry1 we remember1 and       
,collins1 the miniature-painter1 thought
 it a ,giorgione1 and they were         
considered two of the best judges going1
 at the time this picture was exhibited1
 among others1 in the ,orleans ,gallery4
 ,we cannot pretend to decide on such   

nice matters ex cathedra2 but no painter
 need be ashamed to own it4 ,the        
gradations of human life are marked with
 characteristic felicity1 and the       
landscape1 which is thrown in1 adds a   
pastoral charm and navet to the whole4  
,to live or to die in such a chosen1    
still retreat must be                   
happy6--,certainly1 this composition    
suggests a beautiful moral lesson2 and  
as to the painting of the group of      
children in the corner1 we suppose1 for 
careless freedom of pencil1 and a       
certain milky softness of the flesh1 it 
can scarcely be paralleled4 ,over the   
three ,raphaels is a ,danae1 by ,annibal
 ,caracci1 which we used to adore where 
it was hung on high in the ,orleans     
,gallery4 ,the face is fine1 upturned1  
expectant2 and the figure no less fine1 
desirable1 ample1 worthy of a           
,god4--,the golden shower is just seen  
descending2 the landscape at a distance 
has 7so fancy might interpret7 a cold1  
shuddering aspect4 ,there is another    

very fine picture of the same hand close
 by1 ,st4 ,gregory with ,angels4 ,it is 
difficult to know which to admire most1 
the resigned and yet earnest expression 
of the ,saint1 or the elegant forms1 the
 graceful attitudes1 and bland1 cordial1
 benignant faces of the attendant       
angels4 ,the artist in these last has   
evidently had an eye to ,correggio1 both
 in the waving outline1 and in the charm
 of the expression2 and he has succeeded
 admirably1 but not entirely4 ,something
 of the extreme unction of ,correggio is
 wanting4 ,the drawing of ,annibal's    
,angels is1 perhaps1 too firm1 too      
sinewy1 too masculine4 ,in ,correggio1  
the ,angel's spirit seemed to be united 
to a human body1 to imbue1 mould1       
penetrate every part with its sweetness 
and softness3 in ,caracci1 you would say
 that a heavenly spirit inhabited1      
looked out of1 moved a goodly human     
frame1                 #8,and           
o'er-informed the tenement of clay4'    
,the composition of this picture is     

rather forced 7it was one of those made 
to order for the monks7 and the colour  
is somewhat metallic2 but it has1       
notwithstanding1 on the whole1 a        
striking and tolerably harmonious       
effect4--,there is still another picture
 by ,caracci 7also an old favourite with
 us1 for it was in the ,orleans set7    
,diana and ,nymphs bathing1 with the    
story of ,calisto4 ,it is one of his    
very best1 with something of the drawing
 of the antique1 and the                
landscape-colouring of ,titian4 ,the    
figures are all heroic1 handsome1 such  
as might belong to huntresses1 or       
,goddesses3 and the coolness and        
seclusion of the scene1 under grey      
over-hanging cliffs1 and brown          
overshadowing trees1 with all the       
richness and truth of nature1 have the  
effect of an enchanting reality4--,the  
story and figures are more classical and
 better managed than those of the ,diana
 and ,calisto by ,titian2 but there is a
 charm in that picture and the fellow to

 it1 the ,diana and ,acton1 7there is no
 other fellow to it in the world67 which
 no words can convey4 ,it is the charm  
thrown over each by the greatest genius 
for colouring that the world ever saw4  
,it is difficult1 nay1 impossible to say
 which is the finest in this respect3   
but either one or the other 7whichever  
we turn to1 and we can never be         
satisfied with looking at either--so    
rich a scene do they unfold1 so serene a
 harmony do they infuse into the soul7  
is like a divine piece of music1 or     
rises #8like an exhalation of rich      
distilled perfumes4' ,in the figures1 in
 the landscape1 in the water1 in the    
sky1 there are tones1 colours1 scattered
 with a profuse and unerring hand1      
gorgeous1 but most true1 dazzling with  
their force1 but blended1 softened1     
woven together into a woof like that of 
,iris--tints of flesh colour1 as if you 
saw the blood circling beneath the      
pearly skin2 clouds empurpled with      
setting suns2 hills steeped in azure    

skies2 trees turning to a mellow brown2 
the cold grey rocks1 and the water so   
translucent1 that you see the shadows   
and the snowy feet of the naked nymphs  
in it4 ,with all this prodigality of    
genius1 there is the greatest severity  
and discipline of art4 ,the figures seem
 grouped for the effect of colour--the  
most striking contrasts are struck out1 
and then a third object1 a piece of     
drapery1 an uplifted arm1 a bow and     
arrows1 a straggling weed1 is introduced
 to make an intermediate tint1 or carry 
on the harmony4 ,every colour is melted1
 impasted into every other1 with fine   
keeping and bold diversity4 ,look at    
that indignant1 queen-like figure of    
,diana 7more perhaps like an offended   
mortal princess1 than an immortal       
,goddess1 though the immortals could    
frown and give themselves strange airs71
 and see the snowy1 ermine-like skin2   
the pale clear shadows of the delicately
 formed back2 then the brown colour of  
the slender trees behind to set off the 

shaded flesh2 and last1 the dark figure 
of the ,ethiopian girl behind1          
completing the gradation4 ,then the     
bright scarf suspended in the air       
connects itself with the glowing clouds1
 and deepens the solemn azure of the    
sky3 ,acton's bow and arrows fallen on  
the ground are also red2 and there is a 
little flower on the brink of the ,bath 
which catches and pleases the eye1      
saturated with this colour4 ,the        
yellowish grey of the earth purifies the
 low tone of the figures where they are 
in half-shadow2 and this again is       
enlivened by the leaden-coloured        
fountain of the ,bath1 which is set off 
7or kept down in its proper place7 by   
the blue vestments strown near it4 ,the 
figure of ,acton is spirited and        
natural2 it is that of a bold rough     
hunter in the early ages1 struck with   
surprise1 abashed with beauty4 ,the     
forms of some of the female figures are 
elegant enough1 particularly that of    
,diana in the story of ,calisto2 and    

there is a very pretty-faced girl       
mischievously dragging the culprit      
forward2 but it is the texture of the   
flesh that is throughout delicious1     
unrivalled1 surpassingly fair4 ,the     
landscape canopies the living scene with
 a sort of proud1 disdainful            
consciousness4 ,the trees nod to it1 and
 the hills roll at a distance in a sea  
of colour4 ,every where tone1 not form1 
predominates--there is not a distinct   
line in the picture--but a gusto1 a rich
 taste of colour is left upon the eye as
 if it were the palate1 and the diapason
 of picturesque harmony is full to      
overflowing4 #8,oh ,titian and ,nature6 
which of you copied the other8'  ,we are
 ashamed of this description1 now that  
we have made it1 and heartily wish      
somebody would make a better4 ,there is 
another ,titian here 7which was also in 
the ,orleans ,gallery71#c ,venus rising 
from the sea4 ,the figure and face are  
gracefully designed and sweetly         
expressed3--whether it is the picture of

 the ,goddess of ,love1 may admit of a  
question2 that it is the picture of a   
lovely woman in a lovely attitude1      
admits of none4 ,the half-shadow in     
which most of it is painted1 is a kind  
of veil through which the delicate skin 
shows more transparent and aerial4      
,there is nothing in the picture but    
this single exquisitely turned figure1  
and if it were continued downward to a  
whole-length1 it would seem like a copy 
of a statue of the ,goddess carved in   
ivory or marble2 but being only a       
half-length1 it has not this effect at  
all1 but looks like an enchanting study1
 or a part of a larger composition1     
selected a l'envie4 ,the hair1 and the  
arm holding it up1 are nearly the same  
as in the well-known picture of         
,titian's ,mistress1 and as delicious4  
,the back-ground is beautifully painted4
 ,we said before1 that there was no     
object in the picture detached from the 
principal figure4 ,nay1 there is the    
sea1 and a sea-shell1 but these might be

 given in sculpture4--,under the ,venus1
 is a portrait by ,vandyke1 of ,thomas  
,howard1 ,earl of ,arundel1 a most      
gentleman-like performance1 mild1 clear1
 intelligent1 unassuming2 and on the    
right of the spectator1 a ,madonna1 by  
,guido1 with the icy glow of sanctity   
upon it2 and to the left1 the ,fable of 
,salmacis1 by ,albano 7saving the       
ambiguity of the subject71 exquisitely  
painted4 ,four finer specimens of the   
art can scarcely be found again in so   
small a compass4 ,there is in another   
room a portrait1 said to be by ,moroni1 
and called ,,titian',s                  
,,school-,,master1 from a vague         
tradition1 that he was in the habit of  
frequently visiting1 in order to study  
and learn from it4 ,if so1 he must have 
profited by his assiduity2 for it looks 
as if he had painted it4 ,not knowing   
any thing of ,moroni1 if we had been    
asked who had done it1 we should have   
replied1 #8,either ,titian or the       
,devil4'#d ,it is considerably more     

laboured and minute than ,titian2 but   
the only objection at all staggering is1
 that it has less fiery animation than  
is ordinarily to be found in his        
pictures4 ,look at the portrait above   
it1 for instance--,clement ,,vii4 by the
 great ,venetian2 and you find the eye  
looking at you again1 as if it had been 
observing you all the time3 but the eye 
in ,titian's ,school-master is an eye to
 look at1 not to look with1#e or if it  
looks at you1 it does not look through  
you1 which may be almost made a test of 
,titian's heads4 ,there is not the      
spirit1 the intelligence within1        
moulding the expression1 and giving it  
intensity of purpose and decision of    
character4 ,in every other respect but  
this 7and perhaps a certain want of     
breadth7 it is as good as ,titian4      
,there is 7we understand7 a half-length 
of ,clement ,,vii4 by ,julio ,romano1 in
 the ,papal ,palace at ,rome1 in which  
he is represented as seated above the   
spectator1 with the head elevated and   

the eye looking down like a camel's1    
with an amazing dignity of aspect4 ,the 
picture 7,mr4 ,northcote says7 is hard  
and ill-coloured1 but1 in strength of   
character and conception1 superior to   
the ,titian at the ,marquis of          
,stafford's4 ,titian1 undoubtedly1 put a
 good deal of his own character into his
 portraits4 ,he was not himself filled  
with the #8milk of human kindness4' ,he 
got his brother1 who promised to rival  
him in his own art1 and of whom he was  
jealous1 sent on a foreign embassy2 and 
he so frightened ,pordenone while he was
 painting an altar-piece for a church1  
that he worked with his palette and     
brushes in his hand1 and a sword by his 
side4  ,we meet with one or two         
admirable portraits1 particularly ,no4  
#aab1 by ,tintoretto1 which is of a fine
 fleshy tone1 and ,a ,doge of ,venice1  
by ,palma ,vecchio1 stamped with an     
expressive look of official and assumed 
dignity4 ,there is a ,bassan1 ,no4 #ie1 
,the ,circumcision1 the colours of which

 are somewhat dingy with age1 and sunk  
into the canvas2 but as the sun shone   
upon it while we were looking at it1 it 
glittered all green and gold4 ,bassan's 
execution is as fine as possible1 and   
his colouring has a most striking       
harmonious effect4--,we must not forget 
the ,muleteers1 supposed to be by       
,correggio1 in which the figure of the  
,mule seems actually passing across the 
picture 7you hear his bells72 nor the   
little copy of his ,marriage of ,st4    
,catherine1 by ,l4 ,caracci1 which is   
all over grace1 delicacy1 and sweetness4
 ,any one may judge of his progress in a
 taste for the refinements of art1 by   
his liking for this picture4 ,indeed1   
,correggio is the very essence of       
refinement4 ,among other pictures in the
 ,italian division of the gallery1 we   
would point out the ,claudes            
7particularly ,nos4 #dc and #ej17 which1
 though inferior to ,mr4 ,angerstein's  
as compositions1 preserve more of the   
delicacy of execution1 7or what ,barry  

used to call #8the fine oleaginous      
touches of ,claude#87--two small ,gaspar
 ,poussins1 in which the landscape seems
 to have been just washed by a shower1  
and the storm blown over--the ,death of 
,adonis1 by ,luca ,cambiasi1 an ,orleans
 picture1 lovely in sorrow1 and in      
speechless agony1 and faded like the    
life that is just expiring in it--a     
,joseph and ,potiphar's ,wife1 by       
,alessandro ,veronese1 a very clever1   
and sensible1 but rigidly painted       
picture#f--;an ,albert ,durer1 the      
,death of the ,virgin--a ,female head1  
by ,leonardo da ,vinci--and the ,woman  
taken in ,adultery1 by ,pordenone1 which
 last the reader may admire or not1 as  
he pleases4 ,we cannot close this list  
without referring to the ,christ bearing
 his cross1 by ,domenichino1 a picture  
full of interest and skill2 and the     
little touching allegory of the ,infant 
,christ sleeping on a cross1 by ,guido4 
,the ,dutch ,school contains a number of
 excellent specimens of the best        

masters4 ,there are two ,tenierses1 a   
,fair1 and ,boors merry-making1         
unrivalled for a look of the open air1  
for lively awkward gesture1 and variety 
and grotesqueness of grouping and rustic
 character4 ,there is a little picture1 
by ,le ,nain1 called the ,village       
,minstrel1 with a set of youthful       
auditors1 the most incorrigible little  
mischievous urchins we ever saw1 but    
with admirable execution and expression4
 ,the ,metzus are curious and fine--the 
,ostades admirable4 ,gerard ,douw's own 
portrait is certainly a gem4 ,we noticed
 a ,ruysdael in one corner of the room  
7,no4 #bba71 a dark1 flat1 wooded       
country1 but delectable in tone and     
pencilling4 ,vandevelde's ,sea-pieces   
are capital--the water is smooth as     
glass1 and the boats and vessels have   
the buoyancy of butterflies on it4 ,the 
,seaport1 by ,a4 ,cuyp1 is miraculous   
for truth1 brilliancy1 and clearness1   
almost beyond actual water4 ,these      
cannot be passed over2 but there is a   

little picture which we beg to commend  
to the gentle reader1 the ,vangoyen1 at 
the end of the room1 ,no4 #aef1 which   
has that yellow-tawny colour in the     
meads1 and that grey chill look in the  
old convent1 that give one the precise  
feeling of a mild day towards the end of
 winter1 in a humid1 marshy country4 ,we
 many years ago copied a ,vangoyen1 a   
view of a ,canal #8with yellow tufted   
banks and gliding sail1' modestly       
pencilled1 truly felt--and have had an  
affection for him ever since4 ,there is 
a small inner room with some most       
respectable modern pictures4 ,wilkie's  
,breakfast-table is among them4  ,the   
,sacraments1 by ,n4 ,poussin1 occupy a  
separate room by themselves1 and have a 
grand and solemn effect2 but we could   
hardly see them where they are2 and in  
general1 we prefer his treatment of     
light and classical subjects to those of
 sacred history4 ,he wanted weight for  
the last2 or1 if that word is objected  
to1 we will change it1 and say force4   

,on the whole1 the ,stafford ,gallery is
 probably the most magnificent          
,collection this country can boast4 ,the
 specimens of the different schools are 
as numerous as they are select2 and they
 are equally calculated to delight the  
student by the degree1 or to inform the 
uninitiated by the variety of           
excellence4 ,yet even this ,collection  
is not complete4 ,it is deficient in    
,rembrandts1 ,vandykes1 and ,rubenses2  
except one splendid allegory and        
fruit-piece by the last4                
,,the ,,pictures ,,at ,,windsor ,,castle
   ,the palaces of ,windsor and         
,hampton-court contain pictures worthy  
of the feelings we attach to the names  
of those places4 ,the first boasts a    
number of individual pictures of great  
excellence and interest1 and the last   
the ,cartoons4  ,windsor ,castle is     
remarkable in many respects4 ,its tall1 
grey1 square towers1 seated on a        
striking eminence1 overlook for many    
miles the subjacent country1 and1 eyed  

in the distance1 lead the mind of the   
solitary traveller to romantic musing2  
or1 approached nearer1 give the heart a 
quicker and stronger pulsation4         
,windsor1 besides its picturesque1      
commanding situation1 and its being the 
only palace in the kingdom fit for the  
receptacle of #8a line of kings1' is the
 scene of many classical associations4  
,who can pass through ,datchet1 and the 
neighbouring greensward paths1 and not  
think of ,falstaff1 of ,ann ,page1 and  
the oak of ,herne the hunter8 ,or if he 
does not1 still he is affected by them  
as if he did4 ,the tall slim deer glance
 startled by1 in some neglected track of
 memory1 and fairies trip it in the     
unconscious haunts of the imagination6  
,pope's lines on ,windsor ,forest also  
suggest themselves to the mind in the   
same way1 and make the air about it     
delicate4 ,gray has consecrated the same
 spot by his ,ode on a ,distant         
,prospect of ,eton ,college2 and the    
finest passage in ,burke's writings is  

his comparison of the ,british ,monarchy
 to #8the proud ,keep of ,windsor4' ,the
 walls and massy towers of ,windsor     
,castle are indeed built of solid stone1
 weather-beaten1 time-proof2 but the    
image answering to them in the mind's   
eye is woven of pure thought and the    
airy films of the                       
imagination--,arachne's web not finer6  
,the rooms are chill and comfortless at 
this time of the year1#g and gilded     
ceilings look down on smoky fire-places4
 ,the view from the windows1 too1 which 
is so rich and glowing in the           
summer-time1 is desolate and deformed   
with the rains overflowing the marshy   
grounds4 ,as to physical comfort1 one   
seems to have no more of it in these    
tapestried halls and on marble floors1  
than the poor bird driven before the    
pelting storm1 or the ploughboy seeking 
shelter from the drizzling sky1 in his  
sheep-skin jacket and clouted shoes1    
beneath the dripping1 leafless spray4   
,the palace does not 7more than the     

hovel7 always defend us against the     
winter's cold4 ,the apartments are also 
filled with too many rubbishly pictures 
of kings and queens--there are too many 
of ,verrio's paintings1 and a whole     
roomful of ,west's2 but there are ten or
 twenty pictures which the eye1 having  
once seen1 never loses sight of1 and    
that make ,windsor one of the retreats  
and treasuries of art in this country4  
,these1 however1 are chiefly pictures   
which have a personal and individual    
interest attached to them1 as we have   
already hinted3 there are very few      
historical compositions of any value1   
and the subjects of the others are so   
desultory that the young person who     
shows them1 and goes through the names  
of the painters and portraits very      
correctly1 said she very nearly went out
 of her mind in the three weeks she was 
#8studying her part4' ,it is a matter of
 nomenclature3 we hope we shall make as 
few blunders in our report as she did4  
,in the first room the stranger is shown

 into1 there are two large landscapes by
 ,zuccarelli4 ,they are clever1         
well-painted pictures2 but they are     
worth nothing4 ,the fault of this artist
 is1 that there is nothing absolutely   
good or bad in his pictures4 ,they are  
mere handicraft4 ,the whole is done with
 a certain mechanical ease and          
indifference2 but it is evident no part 
of the picture gave him any pleasure1   
and it is impossible it should give the 
spectator any4 ,his only ambition was to
 execute his task so as to save his     
credit2 and your first impulse is1 to   
turn away from the picture1 and save    
your time4  ,in the next room1 there are
 four ,vandykes--two of them excellent4 
,one is the ,duchess of ,richmond1 a    
whole-length1 in a white satin drapery1 
with a pet lamb4 ,the expression of her 
face is a little sullen and capricious4 
,the other1 the ,countess of ,carlisle1 
has a shrewd1 clever1 sensible          
countenance2 and1 in a certain archness 
of look1 and the contour of the lower   

part of the face1 resembles the late    
,mrs4 ,jordan4--,between these two      
portraits is a copy after ,rembrandt1 by
 ,gainsborough1 a fine sombre1 mellow   
head1 with the hat flapped over the     
face4  ,among the most delightful and   
interesting of the pictures in this     
,collection1 is the portrait by         
,vandyke1 of ,lady ,venetia ,digby4 ,it 
is an allegorical composition3 but what 
truth1 what purity1 what delicacy in the
 execution6 ,you are introduced into the
 presence of a beautiful woman of       
quality of a former age1 and it would be
 next to impossible to perform an       
unbecoming action with that portrait    
hanging in the room4 ,it has an air of  
nobility about it1 a spirit of humanity 
within it4 ,there is a dove-like        
innocence and softness about the eyes2  
in the clear1 delicate complexion1      
health and sorrow contend for the       
mastery2 the mouth is sweetness itself1 
the nose highly intelligent1 and the    
forehead is one of #8clear-spirited     

thought4' ,but misfortune has touched   
all this grace and beauty1 and left its 
canker there4 ,this is shown no less by 
the air that pervades it1 than by the   
accompanying emblems4 ,the children in  
particular are exquisitely painted1 and 
have an evident reference to those we   
lately noticed in the ,four ,ages1 by   
,titian4 ,this portrait1 both from the  
style and subject1 reminds one forcibly 
of ,mrs4 ,hutchinson's admirable        
,memoirs of her own ,life4 ,both are    
equally history1 and the history of the 
female heart 7depicted1 in the one case1
 by the pencil1 in the other1 by the    
pen7 in the finest age of female        
accomplishment and pious devotion4 ,look
 at this portrait1 breathing the beauty 
of virtue1 and compare it with the      
#8,beauties' of ,charles ,,ii4's court1 
by ,lely4 ,they look just like what they
 were--a set of kept-mistresses1        
painted1 tawdry1 showing off their      
theatrical or meretricious airs and     
graces1 without one trace of real       

elegance or refinement1 or one spark of 
sentiment to touch the heart4 ,lady     
,grammont is the handsomest of them2    
and1 though the most voluptuous in her  
attire and attitude1 the most decent4   
,the ,duchess of ,portsmouth1 in her    
helmet and plumes1 looks quite like a   
heroine of romance or modern ,amazon2   
but for an air of easy assurance1       
inviting admiration1 and alarmed at     
nothing but being thought coy1 commend  
us to my lady----above1 in the sky-blue 
drapery1 thrown carelessly across her   
shoulders6 ,as paintings1 these         
celebrated portraits cannot rank very   
high4 ,they have an affected ease1 but a
 real hardness of manner and execution2 
and they have that contortion of        
attitude and setness of features which  
we afterwards find carried to so        
disgusting and insipid an excess in     
,kneller's portraits4 ,sir ,peter ,lely 
was1 however1 a better painter than ,sir
 ,godfrey ,kneller--that is the highest 
praise that can be accorded to him4 ,he 

had more spirit1 more originality1 and  
was the livelier coxcomb of the two6    
,both these painters possessed          
considerable mechanical dexterity1 but  
it is not of a refined kind4 ,neither of
 them could be ranked among great       
painters1 yet they were thought by their
 contemporaries and themselves superior 
to every one4 ,at the distance of a     
hundred years we see the thing plainly  
enough4  ,in the same room with the     
portrait of ,lady ,digby1 there is one  
of ,killigrew and ,carew1 by the same   
masterly hand4 ,there is spirit and     
character in the profile of ,carew1     
while the head of ,killigrew is         
surprising from its composure and       
sedateness of aspect4 ,he was one of the
 grave wits of the day1 who made        
nonsense a profound study1 and turned   
trifles into philosophy1 and philosophy 
into a jest4 ,the pale1 sallow          
complexion of this head is throughout in
 wonderful keeping4 ,the beard and face 
seem nearly of the same colour4 ,we     

often see this clear uniform colour of  
the skin in ,titian's portraits4 ,but   
then the dark eyes1 beard1 and          
eye-brows1 give relief and distinctness4
 ,the fair hair and complexions1 that   
,vandyke usually painted1 with the      
almost total absence of shade from his  
pictures1 made the task more difficult2 
and1 indeed1 the prominence and effect  
he produces in this respect1 without any
 of the usual means1 are almost         
miraculous4  ,there are several of his  
portraits1 equestrian and others1 of    
,charles ,i4 in this ,collection1 some  
of them good1 none of them first-rate4  
,those of ,henrietta 7his ,queen7 are   
always delightful4 ,the painter has made
 her the most lady-like of ,queens1 and 
of women4  ,the family picture of the   
,children of ,charles ,i4 is certainly  
admirably painted and managed4 ,the     
large mastiff-dog is inimitably fine and
 true to nature1 and seems as if he was 
made to be pulled about by a parcel of  
royal infants from generation to        

generation4 ,in general1 it may be      
objected to ,vandyke's dressed children1
 that they look like little old men and 
women4 ,his grown-up people had too much
 stiffness and formality2 and the same  
thing must quite overlay the playfulness
 of infancy4 ,yet what a difference     
between these young princes of the      
,house of ,stuart1 and two of the       
princes of the reigning family with     
their mother1 by ,ramsay1 which are     
evident likenesses to this hour6  ,we   
have lost our reckoning as to the order 
of the pictures and rooms in which they 
are placed1 and must proceed            
promiscuously through the remainder of  
our ,catalogue4  ,one of the most noted 
pictures at ,windsor is that of the     
,misers1 by ,quintin ,matsys4 ,its name 
is greater than its merits1 like many   
other pictures which have a lucky or    
intelligible subject1 boldly executed4  
,the conception is good1 the colouring  
bad2 the drawing firm1 and the          
expression coarse and obvious4 ,we are  

sorry to speak at all disparagingly of  
,quintin ,matsys2 for the story goes    
that he was originally bred a           
blacksmith1 and turned painter to gain  
his master's daughter1 who would give   
her hand to no one but on that          
condition4 ,happy he who thus gained the
 object of his love1 though posterity   
may differ about his merits as an       
artist6 ,yet it is certain1 that any    
romantic incident of this kind1         
connected with a well-known work1       
inclines us to regard it with a         
favourable instead of a critical eye1 by
 enhancing our pleasure in it2 as the   
eccentric character1 the wild subjects1 
and the sounding name of ,salvator ,rosa
 have tended to lift him into the       
highest rank of fame among painters4    
,in the same room with the ,misers1 by  
the ,blacksmith of ,antwerp1 is a very  
different picture by ,titian1 consisting
 of two figures also1 viz4 ,himself and 
a ,venetian ,senator4 ,it is one of the 
finest specimens of this master4 ,his   

own portrait is not much3 it has spirit1
 but is hard1 with somewhat of a vulgar1
 knowing look4 ,but the head of the     
,senator is as fine as anything that    
ever proceeded from the hand of man4    
,the expression is a lambent flame1 a   
soul of fire dimmed1 not quenched by    
age4 ,the flesh is flesh4 ,if ,rubens's 
pencil fed upon roses1 ,titian's was    
carnivorous4 ,the tone is betwixt a gold
 and silver hue4 ,the texture and       
pencilling are marrowy4 ,the dress is a 
rich crimson1 which seems to have been  
growing deeper ever since it was        
painted4 ,it is a front view4 ,as far as
 attitude or action is concerned1 it is 
mere still-life2 but the look is of that
 kind that goes through you at a single 
glance4 ,let any one look well at this  
portrait1 and if he then sees nothing in
 it1 or in the portraits of this painter
 in general1 let him give up virt and   
criticism in despair4  ,this room is    
rich in valuable gems1 which might serve
 as a test of a real taste for the art1 

depending for their value on intrinsic  
qualities1 and not on imposing subjects1
 or mechanical arrangement or quantity4 
,as where #8the still1 small voice of   
reason' is wanting1 we judge of actions 
by noisy success and popularity2 so     
where there is no true moral sense in   
art1 nothing goes down but pomp1 and    
bustle1 and pretension4 ,the eye of     
taste looks to see if a work has        
nature's finest image and superscription
 upon it1 and for no other title and    
passport to fame4 ,there is a ,young    
,man's ,head1 7we believe in one corner 
of this room7 by ,holbein1 in which we  
can read high and heroic thoughts and   
resolutions1 better than in any         
,continence of ,scipio we ever saw1 or  
than in all the ,battles of ,alexander  
thrown into a lump4 ,there is a         
,portrait of ,erasmus1 by the same1 and 
in the same or an adjoining room1 in    
which we see into the mind of a scholar 
and of an amiable man1 as through a     
window4 ,there is a ,head by            

,parmegiano1 lofty1 triumphant1 showing 
the spirit of another age and clime--one
 by ,raphael1 studious and              
self-involved--another1 said to be by   
,leonardo da ,vinci 7but more like      
,holbein7 grown crabbed with age and    
thought--and a girl reading1 by         
,correggio1 intent on her subject1 and  
not forgetting herself4 ,these are the  
materials of history2 and if it is not  
made of them1 it is a nickname or a     
mockery4 ,all that does not lay open the
 fine net-work of the heart and brain of
 man1 that does not make us see deeper  
into the soul1 is but the apparatus and 
machinery of history-painting1 and no   
more to it than the frame is to the     
picture4  ,we noticed a little ,mater   
,dolorosa in one of the rooms1 by ,carlo
 ,dolci1 which is a pale1 pleasing1     
expressive head4 ,there are two large   
figures of his1 a ,magdalen and another1
 which are in the very falsest style of 
colouring and expression2 and ,youth and
 ,age1 by ,denner1 which are in as      

perfectly bad a taste and style of      
execution as anything we ever saw of    
this artist1 who was an adept in that   
way4  ,we are afraid we have forgotten  
one or two meritorious pictures which we
 meant to notice4 ,there is one we just 
recollect1 a ,portrait of a ,youth in   
black1 by ,parmegiano4 ,it is in a      
singular style1 but very bold1          
expressive1 and natural4 ,there is 7in  
the same apartment of the palace7 a fine
 picture of the ,battle of ,norlingen1  
by ,rubens4 ,the size and spirit of the 
horses in the fore-ground1 and the      
obvious animation of the riders1 are    
finely contrasted with the airy         
perspective and mechanical grouping of  
the armies at a distance2 and so as to  
prevent that confusion and want of      
positive relief1 which usually pervade  
,battle-pieces4 ,in the same room       
7opposite7 is ,kneller's ,chinese       
converted to ,christianity--a portrait  
of which he was justly proud4 ,it is a  
fine oil-picture1 clear1 tawny1 without 

trick or affectation1 and full of       
character4 ,one of ,kneller's fine      
ladies or gentlemen1 with their wigs and
 toupes1 would have been mortally       
offended to have been so painted4 ,the  
,chinese retains the same oily sly look1
 after his conversion as before1 and    
seems just as incapable of a change of  
religion as a piece of terra cotta4 ,on 
each side of this performance are two   
,guidos1 the ,perseus and ,andromeda1   
and ,venus attired by the ,graces4 ,we  
give the preference to the former4 ,the 
,andromeda is a fine1 noble figure1 in a
 striking and even daring position1 with
 an impassioned and highly-wrought      
expression of features2 and the whole   
scene is in harmony with the subject4   
,the ,venus attired by the ,graces      
7though full of beauties1 particularly  
the colouring of the flesh in the frail 
,goddess7 is formal and disjointed in   
the composition2 and some of the actions
 are void of grace and even of decorum4 
,we allude particularly to the          

,maid-in-waiting1 who is combing her    
hair1 and to the one tying on her       
sandals1 with her arm crossing ,venus's 
leg at right angles4 ,the ,cupid in the 
window is as light and wanton as a      
butterfly flying out of it4 ,he may be  
said to flutter and hover in his own    
delights4 ,there are two capital        
engravings of these pictures by         
,strange4                          ,,the
 ,,pictures ,,at ,,hampton ,,court      
,this palace is a very magnificent one1 
and we think1 has been undeservedly     
neglected4 ,it is ,dutch-built1 of      
handsome red brick1 and belongs to a    
class of houses1 the taste for which    
appears to have been naturalised in this
 country along with the happy           
introduction of the ,houses of ,orange  
and ,hanover4 ,the approach to it       
through ,bushy-,park is delightful1     
inspiriting at this time of year2 and   
the gardens about it1 with their        
close-clipped holly hedges and arbours  
of evergreen1 look an artificial summer 

all the year round4 ,the statues that   
are interspersed do not freeze in       
winter1 and are cool and classical in   
the warmer seasons4 ,the ,toy-,inn      
stands opportunely at the entrance1 to  
invite the feet of those who are tired  
of a straggling walk from ,brentford or 
,kew1 or oppressed with thought and     
wonder after seeing the ,cartoons4      
,besides these last1 however1 there are 
several fine pictures here4 ,we shall   
pass over the ,knellers1 the ,verrios1  
and the different portraits of the      
,royal ,family1 and come at once to the 
,nine ,muses1 by ,tintoret4 ,or rather1 
his ,nine ,muses are summed up in one1  
the back-figure in the right-hand corner
 as you look at the picture1 which is   
all grandeur1 elegance1 and grace4--,we 
should think that in the gusto of form  
and a noble freedom of outline1 ,michael
 ,angelo could hardly have surpassed    
this figure4 ,the face too1 which is    
half turned round1 is charmingly        
handsome4 ,the back1 the shoulders1 the 

legs1 are the perfection of bold        
delicacy1 expanded into full-blown      
luxuriance1 and then retiring as it were
 from their own proud beauty and        
conscious charms into soft and airy     
loveliness--                  #8,fine by
 degrees1 and beautifully less4'  ,is it
 a ,muse8 ,or is it not a figure formed 
for action more than contemplation8     
,perhaps this hypercritical objection   
may be true2 and it might without any   
change of character or impropriety be   
supposed1 from its buoyancy1 its ease1  
and sinewy elasticity1 to represent the 
quivered ,goddess shaping her bow for   
the chase4 ,but1 at any rate1 it is the 
figure of a ,goddess1 or of a woman in  
shape equal to a ,goddess4 ,the colour  
is nearly gone1 so that it has almost   
the tone of a black and white           
chalk-drawing2 and the effect of form   
remains pure and unrivalled4 ,there are 
several other very pleasing and         
ably-drawn figures in the group1 but    
they are eclipsed in the superior       

splendour of this one4 ,so far the      
composition is faulty1 for its balance  
is destroyed2 and there are certain     
critics who could probably maintain that
 the picture would be better1 if this   
capital excellence in it had been       
deliberately left out3 the picture      
would1 indeed1 have been more according 
to rule1 and to the taste of those who  
judge1 feel1 and see by rule only6      
,among the portraits which are curious1 
is one of ,baccio ,bandinelli1 with his 
emblems and implements of sculpture     
about him1 said to be by ,correggio4 ,we
 cannot pretend to give an opinion on   
this point2 but it is a studious1       
powerful1 and elaborately painted head4 
,we find the name of ,titian attached to
 two or three portraits in the          
,collection4 ,there is one very fine one
 of a young man in black1 with a black  
head of hair1 the face seen in a        
three-quarter view1 and the dark        
piercing eye1 full of subtle meaning1   
looking round at you2 which is probably 

by ,titian1 but certainly not 7as it is 
pretended7 of himself4 ,it has not the  
aquiline cast of features by which his  
own portraits are obviously             
distinguished4 ,we have seen a print of 
this picture1 in which it is said to be 
done for ,ignatius ,loyola4 ,the        
portrait of a lady with green and white 
purfled sleeves 7like the leaves and    
flower of the water-lily1 and as clear67
 is admirable4 ,it was in the           
,pall-,mall exhibition of the ,old      
,masters a short time ago2 and is by    
,sebastian del ,piombo4--,the care of   
the painting1 the natural ease of the   
attitude1 and the steady1 sensible1     
conversable look of the countenance1    
place this in a class of pictures1 which
 one feels a wish to have always by     
one's side1 whenever there is a want of 
thought1 or a flaw in the temper1 that  
requires filling up or setting to rights
 by some agreeable and at the same time 
not over-exciting object4 ,there are    
several soi-disant ,parmegianos2 one or 

two good ,bassans2 a ,battle-,piece set 
down to ,julio ,romano2 a coloured      
drawing 7in one corner of a room7 of a  
,nymph and ,satyr is very fine2 and some
 of ,polemberg's little disagreeable    
pictures of the same subject1 in which  
the ,satyrs look like paltry bits of    
painted wood1 and the ,nymphs like      
glazed ,china-ware4 ,we have a prejudice
 against ,polemberg1 which is a rare    
thing with us6  ,the ,cartoons occupy a 
room by themselves--there are not many  
such rooms in the world4 ,all other     
pictures look like oil and varnish to   
these--we are stopped and attracted by  
the colouring1 the pencilling1 the      
finishing1 or the want of it1 that is1  
by the instrumentalities of the art--but
 here the painter seems to have flung   
his mind upon the canvas2 his thoughts1 
his great ideas alone prevail2 there is 
nothing between us and the subject2 we  
look through a frame1 and see           
scripture-histories1 and are made actual
 spectators of miraculous events4 ,not  

to speak it profanely1 they are a sort  
of revelation of the subjects1 of which 
they treat2 there is an ease and freedom
 of manner about them1 which brings     
preternatural characters and situations 
home to us1 with the familiarity of     
common every-day occurrences2 and while 
the figures fill1 raise1 and satisfy the
 mind1 they seem to have cost the       
painter nothing4 ,the ,cartoons are     
unique productions in the art4 ,they are
 mere intellectual1 or rather visible   
abstractions of truth and nature4 ,every
 where else we see the means2 here we   
arrive at the end apparently without any
 means4 ,there is a ,spirit at work in  
the divine creation before us4 ,we are  
unconscious of any details1 of any steps
 taken1 of any progress made2 we are    
aware only of comprehensive results1 of 
whole masses and figures4 ,the sense of 
power supersedes the appearance of      
effort4 ,it is like a waking dream1     
vivid1 but undistinguishable in member1 
joint1 or limb2 or it is as if we had   

ourselves seen the persons and things at
 some former period of our being1 and   
that the drawing certain dotted lines   
upon coarse paper1 by some unknown      
spell1 brought back the entire and      
living images1 and made them pass before
 us1 palpable to thought1 to feeling1   
and to sight4 ,perhaps not all is owing 
to genius3 something of this effect may 
be ascribed to the simplicity of the    
vehicle employed in embodying the story1
 and something to the decayed and       
dilapidated state of the pictures       
themselves4 ,they are the more majestic 
for being in ruin3 we are struck chiefly
 with the truth of proportion1 and the  
range of conception3 all the petty1     
meretricious part of the art is dead in 
them2 the carnal is made spiritual1 the 
corruptible has put on incorruption1    
and1 amidst the wreck of colour1 and the
 mouldering of material beauty1 nothing 
is left but a universe of thought1 or   
the broad1 imminent shadows of #8calm   
contemplation and majestic pains6'  ,the

 first in order is the ,death of        
,ananias2 and it is one of the noblest  
of these noble designs4 ,the effect is  
striking2 and the contrast between the  
steadfast1 commanding attitude of the   
,apostles1 and the convulsed and        
prostrate figure of ,ananias on the     
floor1 is finely imagined4 ,it is much  
as if a group of persons on shore stood 
to witness the wreck of life and hope on
 the rocks and quicksands beneath them4 
,the abruptness and severity of the     
transition are1 however1 broken and     
relieved by the other human interests in
 the picture4 ,the ,ananias is a        
masterly1 a stupendous figure4 ,the     
attitude1 the drawing1 the expression1  
the ease1 the force1 are alike          
wonderful4 ,he falls so naturally1 that 
it seems as if a person could fall in no
 other way2 and yet of all the ways in  
which a human figure could fall1 it is  
probably the most expressive of a person
 overwhelmed by and in the grasp of     
,divine vengeance4 ,this is in some     

measure1 we apprehend1 the secret of    
,raphael's success4 ,most painters1 in  
studying an attitude1 puzzle themselves 
to find out what will be picturesque1   
and what will be fine1 and never        
discover it3 ,raphael only thought how a
 person would stand or fall naturally in
 such or such circumstances1 and the    
picturesque and the fine followed as    
matters of course4 ,hence the unaffected
 force and dignity of his style1 which  
are only another name for truth and     
nature under impressive and momentous   
circumstances4 ,the distraction of the  
face1 the inclination of the head on one
 side1 are as fine as possible1 and the 
agony is just verging to that point1 in 
which it is relieved by death4 ,the     
expression of ghastly wonder in the     
features of the man on the floor next   
him is also remarkable2 and the mingled 
beauty1 grief1 and horror in the female 
head behind can never be enough admired 
or extolled4 ,the pain1 the sudden and  
violent contraction of the muscles1 is  

as intense as if a sharp instrument had 
been driven into the forehead1 and yet  
the same sweetness triumphs there as    
ever1 the most perfect self-command and 
dignity of demeanour4 ,we could hazard a
 conjecture that this is what forms the 
great distinction between the natural   
style of ,raphael and the natural style 
of ,hogarth4 ,both are equally intense2 
but the one is intense littleness1      
meanness1 vulgarity2 the other is       
intense grandeur1 refinement1 and       
sublimity4 ,in the one we see common1 or
 sometimes uncommon and painful1        
circumstances acting with all their     
force on narrow minds and deformed      
bodies1 and bringing out distorted and  
violent efforts at expression2 in the   
other we see noble forms and lofty      
characters contending with adverse1 or  
co-operating with powerful impressions  
from without1 and imparting their own   
unaltered grace1 and habitual composure 
to them4 ,in ,hogarth1 generally1 the   
face is excited and torn in pieces by   

some paltry interest of its own2 in     
,raphael1 on the contrary1 it is        
expanded and ennobled by the            
contemplation of some event or object   
highly interesting in itself3 that is to
 say1 the passion in the one is         
intellectual and abstracted2 the passion
 in the other is petty1 selfish1 and    
confined4 ,we have not thought it       
beneath the dignity of the subject to   
make this comparison between two of the 
most extraordinary and highly gifted    
persons that the world ever saw4 ,if    
,raphael had seen ,hogarth's pictures1  
he would not have despised them4 ,those 
only can do it 7and they are welcome67  
who1 wanting all that he had1 can do    
nothing that he could not1 or that they 
themselves pretend to accomplish by     
affectation and bombast4  ,elymas the   
,sorcerer stands next in order1 and is  
equal in merit4 ,there is a ,roman      
sternness and severity in the general   
look of the scene4 ,the figure of the   
,apostle1 who is inflicting the         

punishment of blindness on the impostor1
 is grand1 commanding1 full of ease and 
dignity3 and the figure of ,elymas is   
blind all over1 and is muffled up in its
 clothes from head to foot4 ,a story is 
told of ,mr4 ,garrick's objecting to the
 natural effect of the action1 in the   
hearing of the late ,mr4 ,west1 who1 in 
vindication of the painter1 requested   
the celebrated comedian to close his    
eyes and walk across the room1 when he  
instantly stretched out his hands1 and  
began to grope his way with the exact   
attitude and expression of this noble   
study4 ,it may be worth remarking here1 
that this great painter and fine        
observer of human nature has represented
 the magician with a hard iron visage1  
and strong uncouth figure1 made up of   
bones and muscles1 as one not troubled  
with weak nerves1 nor to be diverted    
from his purpose by idle scruples1 as   
one who repelled all sympathy with      
others1 who was not to be moved a jot by
 their censures or prejudices against   

him1 and who could break with ease      
through the cobweb snares which he laid 
for the credulity of mankind1 without   
being once entangled in his own         
delusions4 ,his outward form betrays the
 hard1 unimaginative1 self-willed       
understanding of the ,sorcerer4--,there 
is a head 7a profile7 coming in on one  
side of the picture1 which we would     
point out to our readers as one of the  
most finely relieved1 and best          
preserved1 in this series4 ,the face of 
,elymas1 and some others in the picture1
 have been a good deal hurt by time and 
ill-treatment4 ,there is a snuffy look  
under the nose1 as if the water colour  
had been washed away in some damp       
lumber-room1 or unsheltered out-house4  
,the ,cartoons have felt #8the seasons' 
difference1' being exposed to wind and  
rain1 tossed about from place to place1 
and cut down by profane hands to fit    
them to one of their abodes2 so that it 
is altogether wonderful1 that #8through 
their looped and tattered wretchedness1'

 any traces are seen of their original  
splendour and beauty4 ,that they are    
greatly changed from what they were even
 a hundred years ago1 is evident from   
the heads in the ,radcliffe library at  
,oxford1 which were cut out from one of 
them that was nearly destroyed by some  
accident1 and from the large ,french    
engravings of single heads1 done about  
the same time1 which are as finished and
 correct as possible4 ,even ,sir ,james 
,thornhill's copies bear testimony to   
the same effect4 ,though without the    
spirit of the originals1 they have fewer
 blots and blotches in them1 from having
 been better taken care of4 ,a skeleton 
is barely left of the ,cartoons3 but    
their mighty relics1 like the bones of  
the ,mammoth1 tell us what the entire   
and living fabric must have been6  ,in  
the ,gate ,beautiful there is a         
profusion of what is fine1 and of       
imposing contrasts4 ,the twisted pillars
 have been found fault with2 but there  
they stand1 and will for ever stand to  

answer all cavillers with their wreathed
 beauty4 ,the ,st4 ,john in this        
,cartoon is an instance of what we have 
above hinted as to the ravages of time  
on these pictures4 ,in the old ,french  
engraving 7half the size of life7 the   
features are exceedingly well marked and
 beautiful1 whereas they are here in a  
great measure defaced2 and the hair1    
which is at present a mere clotted mass1
 is woven into graceful and waving      
curls1                        #8,like to
 those hanging locks                    
,of young ,apollo4'  ,great inroads have
 been made on the delicate outline of   
the other parts1 and the surface has    
been generally injured4 ,the ,beggars   
are as fine as ever3 they do not lose by
 the squalid condition of their garb or 
features1 but remain patriarchs of      
poverty1 and mighty in disease and      
infirmity1 as if they crawled and       
grovelled on the pavement of ,heaven4   
,they are lifted above this world6 ,the 
child carrying the doves at his back is 

an exquisite example of grace1 and      
innocence1 and buoyant motion2 and the  
face and figure of the young woman seen 
directly over him give a glad welcome to
 the eye in their fresh1 unalloyed1 and 
radiant sweetness and joy4 ,this head   
seems to have been spared from the      
unhallowed touch of injury1 like a      
little isle or circlet of beauty4 ,it   
was guarded1 we may suppose1 by its own 
heavenly1 feminine look of smiling      
loveliness4 ,there is another very fine 
female head on the opposite side of the 
picture1 of a graver cast1 looking down1
 and nearly in profile4 ,the only part  
of this ,cartoon that we object to1 or  
should be for turning out1 is the       
lubberly naked figure of a boy close to 
one of the pillars1 who seems to have no
 sort of business there1 and is an      
obvious eye-sore4  ,the ,miraculous     
,draught of ,fishes is admirable for the
 clearness and prominence of the        
figures1 for the vigorous marking of the
 muscles1 for the fine expression of    

devout emotion in the ,st4 ,peter1 and  
for the calm dignity in the attitude1   
and divine benignity in the countenance 
of the ,christ4 ,perhaps this head      
expresses1 more than any other that ever
 was attempted1 the blended meekness1   
benevolence1 and sublimity in the       
character of our ,saviour4 ,the whole   
figure is so still1 so easy1 it almost  
floats in air1 and seems to sustain the 
boat by the secret sense of power4 ,we  
shall not attempt to make a formal reply
 to the old objection to the diminutive 
size of the boat1 but we confess it     
appears to us to enhance the value of   
the miracle4 ,its load swells           
proportionably in comparison1 and the   
waves conspire to bear it up4 ,the      
,storks on the shore are not the least  
animated or elevated part of the        
picture2 they exult in the display of   
divine power1 and share in the          
prodigality of the occasion4  ,the      
,sacrifice at ,lystra has the marks of  
,raphael's hand on every part of it4    

,you see and almost hear what is        
passing4 ,what a pleasing relief to the 
confused1 busy scene1 are the two       
children piping at the altar6 ,how      
finely1 how unexpectedly1 but naturally1
 that innocent rustic head of a girl    
comes in over the grave countenances and
 weighty1 thoughtful heads of the group 
of attendant priests6 ,the animals      
brought to be sacrificed are equally    
fine in the expression of terror1 and   
the action of resistance to the rude    
force by which they are dragged along4  
,a great deal has been said and written 
on the ,st4 ,paul preaching at ,athens4 
,the features of excellence in this     
composition are indeed so bold and      
striking as hardly to be mistaken4 ,the 
abrupt figure of ,st4 ,paul1 his hands  
raised in that fervent appeal to ,him   
who #8dwelleth not in temples made with 
hands1' such as are seen in gorgeous    
splendour all around1 the circle of his 
auditors1 the noble and pointed         
diversity of heads1 the one wrapped in  

thought and in its cowl1 another resting
 on a crutch and earnestly scanning the 
face of the ,apostle rather than his    
doctrine1 the careless attention of the 
,epicurean philosopher1 the fine young  
heads of the disciples of the ,porch or 
the ,academy1 the clenched fist and     
eager curiosity of the man in front as  
if he was drinking sounds1 give this    
picture a superiority over all the      
others for popular and intelligible     
effect4 ,we do not think that it is     
therefore the best2 but it is the       
easiest to describe and to remember4    
,the ,giving of the ,keys is the last of
 them3 it is at present at              
,somerset-,house4 ,there is no set      
purpose here1 no studied contrast3 it is
 an aggregation of grandeur and high    
feeling4 ,the disciples gather round    
,christ1 like a flock of sheep listening
 to some divine shepherd4 ,the figure of
 their master is sublime3 his           
countenance and attitude #8in act to    
speak4' ,the landscape is also extremely

 fine and of a soothing                 
character4--,every thing falls into its 
place in these pictures4 ,the figures   
seem to stop just where their business  
and feelings bring them3 not a fold in  
the draperies can be disposed of for the
 better or otherwise than it is4  ,it   
would be in vain to enumerate the       
particular figures1 or to explain the   
story of works so well known3 what we   
have aimed at has been to shew the      
spirit that breathes through them1 and  
we shall count ourselves fortunate1 if  
we have not sullied them with our       
praise4 ,we do not care about some      
works3 but these were sacred to our     
imaginations1 and we should be sorry    
indeed to have profaned them by         
description or criticism4 ,we have      
hurried through our unavoidable task    
with fear1 and look back to it with     
doubt4                     ,,lord       
,,grosvenor',s ,,collection ,,of        
,,pictures   ,we seldom quit a mansion  
like that of which we have here to give 

some account1 and return homewards1 but 
we think of ,warton's ,sonnet1 written  
after seeing ,wilton-house4             
#8,from ,pembroke's princely dome1 where
 mimic art            ,decks with a     
magic hand the dazzling bowers1         
,its living hues where the warm pencil  
pours1            ,and breathing forms  
from the rude marble start1             
,how to life's humbler scenes can ,i    
depart8            ,my breast all       
glowing from those gorgeous tow'rs1     
,in my low cell how cheat the sullen    
hours8            ,vain the complaint6  
,for ,fancy can impart            7,to  
,fate superior1 and to ,fortune's doom7 
,whate'er adorns the stately-storied    
hall3            ,she1 mid the dungeon's
 solitary gloom1            ,can dress  
the ,graces in their ,attic pall3       
,bid the green landscape's vernal beauty
 bloom2            ,and in bright       
trophies clothe the twilight wall4'     
,having repeated these lines to         
ourselves1 we sit quietly down in our   

chairs to con over our task1 abstract   
the idea of exclusive property1 and     
think only of those images of beauty and
 of grandeur1 which we can carry away   
with us in our minds1 and have every    
where before us4 ,let us take some of   
these1 and describe them how we can4    
,there is one--we see it now--the ,man  
with a ,hawk1 by ,rembrandt4 #8,in our  
mind's eye1 ,horatio6' ,what is the     
difference between this idea which we   
have brought away with us1 and the      
picture on the wall8 ,has it lost any of
 its tone1 its ease1 its depth8 ,the    
head turns round in the same graceful   
moving attitude1 the eye carelessly     
meets ours1 the tufted beard grows to   
the chin1 the hawk flutters and balances
 himself on his favourite perch1 his    
master's hand2 and a shadow seems       
passing over the picture1 just leaving a
 light in one corner of it behind1 to   
give a livelier effect to the whole4    
,there is no mark of the pencil1 no     
jagged points or solid masses2 it is all

 air1 and twilight might be supposed to 
have drawn his veil across it4 ,it is as
 much an idea on the canvas1 as it is in
 the mind4 ,there are no means employed1
 as far as you can discover--you see    
nothing but a simple1 grand1 and natural
 effect4 ,it is impalpable as a thought1
 intangible as a sound--nay1 the shadows
 have a breathing harmony1 and fling    
round an undulating echo of themselves1 
#8,at every fall smoothing the raven    
down                 ,of darkness till  
it smiles6'  ,in the opposite corner of 
the room is a ,portrait of a ,female 7by
 the same71 in which every thing is as  
clear1 and pointed1 and brought out into
 the open day1 as in the former it is   
withdrawn from close and minute         
inspection4 ,the face glitters with     
smiles as the ear-rings sparkle with    
light4 ,the whole is stiff1 starched1   
and formal1 has a pearly or metallic    
look1 and you throughout mark the most  
elaborate and careful finishing4 ,the   
two pictures make an antithesis1 where  

they are placed2 but this was not       
probably at all intended3 it proceeds   
simply from the difference in the nature
 of the subject1 and the truth and      
appropriate power of the treatment of   
it4--,in the middle between these two   
pictures is a small history1 by         
,rembrandt1 of the ,salutation of       
,elizabeth1 in which the figures come   
out straggling1 disjointed1 quaint1 ugly
 as in a dream1 but partake of the      
mysterious significance of preternatural
 communication1 and are seen through the
 visible gloom1 or through the dimmer   
night of antiquity4 ,light and shade1   
not form or feeling1 were the elements  
of which ,rembrandt composed the finest 
poetry1 and his imagination brooded only
 over the medium through which we       
discern objects1 leaving the objects    
themselves uninspired1 unhallowed1 and  
untouched6  ,we must go through our     
account of these pictures as they start 
up in our memory1 not according to the  
order of their arrangement1 for want of 

a proper set of memorandums4 ,our       
friend1 ,mr4 ,gummow1 of                
,cleveland-house1 had a nice little     
neatly-bound duodecimo ,catalogue1 of   
great use as a ,vade ,mecum to          
occasional visitants or absent          
critics--but here we have no such       
advantage2 and to take notes before     
company is a thing that we abhor4 ,it   
has a look of pilfering something from  
the pictures4 ,while we merely enjoy the
 sight of the objects of art before us1 
or sympathise with the approving gaze of
 the greater beauty around us1 it is    
well2 there is a feeling of luxury and  
refinement in the employment2 but take  
out a pocket-book1 and begin to scribble
 notes in it1 the date of the picture1  
the name1 the room1 some paltry defect1 
some pitiful discovery 7not worth       
remembering71 the non-essentials1 the   
mechanic common-places of the art1 and  
the sentiment is gone--you shew that you
 have a further object in view1 a job to
 execute1 a feeling foreign to the      

place1 and different from every one     
else--you become a butt and a mark for  
ridicule to the rest of the company--and
 you retire with your pockets full of   
wisdom from a saloon of art1 with as    
little right as you have to carry off   
the dessert1 7or what you have not been 
able to consume17 from an inn1 or a     
banquet4 ,such1 at least1 is our        
feeling2 and we had rather make a       
mistake now and then1 as to a numero1 or
 the name of a room in which a picture  
is placed1 than spoil our whole pleasure
 in looking at a fine ,collection1 and  
consequently the pleasure of the reader 
in learning what we thought of it4      
,among the pictures that haunt our eye  
in this way is the ,adoration of the    
,angels1 by ,n4 ,poussin4 ,it is one of 
his finest works--elegant1 graceful1    
full of feeling1 happy1 enlivening4 ,it 
is treated rather as a classical than as
 a sacred subject4 ,the ,angels are more
 like ,cupids than ,angels4 ,they are1  
however1 beautifully grouped1 with      

various and expressive attitudes1 and   
remind one1 by their half antic1 half   
serious homage1 of the line--           
#8,nod to him1 elves1 and do him        
courtesies4'  ,they are laden with      
baskets of flowers--the tone of the     
picture is rosy1 florid2 it seems to    
have been painted at                    
#8,the breezy call of incense-breathing 
morn1'  and the angels over-head sport  
and gambol in the air with              
butterfly-wings1 like butterflies4 ,it  
is one of those rare productions that   
satisfy the mind1 and from which we turn
 away1 not from weariness1 but from a   
fulness of delight4--,the ,israelites   
returning ,thanks in the ,wilderness is 
a fine picture1 but inferior to this4   
,near it is a group of ,angels1 said to 
be by ,correggio4 ,the expressions are  
grotesque and fine1 but the colouring   
does not seem to us to be his4 ,the     
texture of the flesh1 as well as the    
hue1 too much resembles the skin of ripe
 fruit4 ,we meet with several fine      

landscapes of the two ,poussins1        
7particularly one of a rocky eminence by
 ,gaspar17 in the room before you come  
to the ,rembrandts1 in which the mixture
 of grey rock and green trees and shrubs
 is beautifully managed1 with striking  
truth and clearness4  ,among detached   
and smaller pictures1 we would wish to  
point out to the attention of our       
readers1 an exquisite head of a ,child1 
by ,andrea del ,sarto1 and a fine       
,salvator in the inner room of all3 in  
the room leading to it1 a pleasing1     
glassy ,cuyp1 an airy1 earthy-looking   
,teniers1 and a ,mother and a ,sleeping 
,child1 by ,guido3 in the ,saloon1 a    
,st4 ,catherine1 one of ,parmegiano's   
most graceful pictures2 a ,st4 ,agnes1  
by ,domenichino1 full of sweetness1     
thought1 and feeling2 and two pictures  
by ,raphael1 that have a look as if     
painted on paper3 a ,repose in ,egypt1  
and ,st4 ,luke painting the ,virgin1    
both admirable for drawing and          
expression1 and a rich1 purple1 crayon  

tone of colouring4 ,wherever ,raphael   
is1 there is grace and dignity1 and an  
informing soul4 ,in the last-mentioned  
room1 near the entrance1 is also a      
,conversion of ,saint ,paul1 by ,rubens1
 of infinite spirit1 brilliancy1 and    
delicacy of execution4  ,but it is in   
the large room to the right1 that the   
splendour and power of ,rubens reign    
triumphant and unrivalled1 and yet he   
has here to contend with highest works  
and names4 ,the four large pictures of  
ecclesiastical subjects1 the ,meeting of
 ,abram and ,melchisedec1 the ,gathering
 of ,manna1 the ,evangelists1 and the   
,fathers of the ,church1 have no match  
in this country for scenic pomp1 and    
dazzling airy effect4 ,the figures are  
colossal2 and it might be said1 without 
much extravagance1 that the drawing and 
colouring are so too4#h ,he seems to    
have painted with a huge sweeping       
gigantic pencil1 and with broad masses  
of unalloyed colour4 ,the spectator is  
7as it were7 thrown back by the         

pictures1 and surveys them1 as if placed
 at a stupendous height1 as well as     
distance from him4 ,this1 indeed1 is    
their history3 they were painted to be  
placed in some ,jesuit's church abroad1 
at an elevation of forty or fifty feet1 
and ,rubens would have started to see   
them in a drawing-room or on the ground4
 ,had he foreseen such a result1 he     
would perhaps have added something to   
the correctness of the features1 and    
taken something from the gorgeous       
crudeness of the colour4 ,but there is  
grandeur of composition1 involution of  
form1 motion1 character in its vast1    
rude outline1 the imposing contrast of  
sky and flesh1 fine grotesque heads of  
old age1 florid youth1 and fawn-like    
beauty6 ,you see nothing but patriarchs1
 primeval men and women1 walking among  
temples1 or treading the sky--or the    
earth1 with an #8air and gesture proudly
 eminent1' as if they trod the sky--when
 man first rose from nothing to his     
native sublimity4 ,we cannot describe   

these pictures in their details2 they   
are one staggering blow after another of
 the mighty hand that traced them4 ,all 
is cast in the same mould1 all is filled
 with the same spirit1 all is clad in   
the same gaudy robe of light4 ,rubens   
was at home here2 his forte was the     
processional1 the showy1 and the        
imposing2 he grew almost drunk and      
wanton with the sense of his power over 
such subjects2 and he1 in fact1 left    
these pictures unfinished in some       
particulars1 that1 for the place and    
object for which they were intended1    
they might be perfect4 ,they were done  
7it is said7 for tapestries from small  
designs1 and carried nearly to their    
present state of finishing by his       
scholars4 ,there is a smaller picture in
 the same room1 ,ixion embracing the    
false ,juno1 which points out and       
defines their style of art and          
adaptation for remote effect4 ,there is 
a delicacy in this last picture 7which  
is1 however of the size of life7 that   

makes it look like a miniature in       
comparison4 ,the flesh of the women is  
like lilies1 or like milk strewed upon  
ivory4 ,it is soft and pearly2 but1 in  
the larger pictures1 it is heightened   
beyond nature1 the veil of air between  
the spectator and the figures1 when     
placed in the proper position1 being    
supposed to give the last finishing4    
,near the ,ixion is an historical female
 figure1 by ,guido1 which will not bear 
any comparison for transparency and     
delicacy of tint with the two           
,junos4--,rubens was undoubtedly the    
greatest scene-painter in the world1 if 
we except ,paul ,veronese1 and the      
,fleming was to him flat and insipid4   
#8,it is place which lessens and sets   
off4' ,we once saw two pictures of      
,rubens' hung by the side of the        
,marriage of ,cana in the ,louvre2 and  
they looked nothing4 ,the ,paul         
,veronese nearly occupied the side of a 
large room 7the modern ,french          
exhibition-room7 and it was like looking

 through the side of a wall1 or at a    
splendid banquet and gallery1 full of   
people1 and full of interest4 ,the      
texture of the two ,rubenses was woolly1
 or flowery1 or satiny3 it was all      
alike2 but in the ,venetian's great work
 the pillars were of stone1 the floor   
was marble1 the tables were wood1 the   
dresses were various stuffs1 the sky was
 air1 the flesh was flesh2 the groups   
were living men and women4 ,turks1      
emperours1 ladies1 painters1            
musicians--all was real1 dazzling1      
profuse1 astonishing4 ,it seemed as if  
the very dogs under the table might get 
up and bark1 or that at the sound of a  
trumpet the whole assembly might rise   
and disperse in different directions1 in
 an instant4 ,this picture1 however1 was
 considered as the triumph of ,paul     
,veronese1 and the two by the ,flemish  
artist that hung beside it were very    
inferior to some of his1 and assuredly  
to those now exhibited in the ,gallery  
at ,lord ,grosvenor's4 ,neither do we   

wish by this allusion to disparage      
,rubens2 for we think him on the whole a
 greater genius1 and a greater painter1 
than the rival we have here opposed to  
him1 as we may attempt to shew when we  
come to speak of the ,collection at     
,blenheim4  ,there are some divine      
,claudes in the same room2 and they too 
are like looking through a window at a  
select and conscious landscape4 ,there  
are five or six1 all capital for the    
composition1 and highly preserved4      
,there is a strange and somewhat        
anomalous one of ,christ in the ,mount1 
as if the artist had tried to contradict
 himself1 and yet it is ,claude all     
over4 ,nobody but he could paint one    
single atom of it4 ,the ,mount is stuck 
up in the very centre of the picture1   
against all rule1 like a huge dirt-pye3 
but then what an air breathes round it1 
what a sea encircles it1 what verdure   
clothes it1 what flocks and herds feed  
round it1 immortal and unchanged6 ,close
 by it is the ,arch of ,constantine2 but

 this is to us a bitter disappointment4 
,a print of it hung in a little room in 
the country1 where we used to           
contemplate it by the hour together1 and
 day after day1 and #8sigh our souls'   
into the picture4 ,it was the most      
graceful1 the most perfect of all       
,claude's compositions4 ,the ,temple    
seemed to come forward into the middle  
of the picture1 as in a dance1 to show  
its unrivalled beauty1 the ,vashti of   
the scene6 ,young trees bent their      
branches over it with playful           
tenderness2 and1 on the opposite side of
 a stream1 at which cattle stooped to   
drink1 there grew a stately grove1      
erect1 with answering looks of beauty3  
the distance between retired into air   
and gleaming shores4 ,never was there   
scene so fair1 #8so absolute1 that in   
itself summ'd all delight4' ,how did we 
wish to compare it with the picture6    
,the trees1 we thought1 must be of      
vernal green--the sky recalled the mild 
dawn1 or softened evening4 ,no1 the     

branches of the trees are red1 the sky  
burned up1 the whole hard and           
uncomfortable4 ,this is not the picture1
 the print of which we used to gaze at  
enamoured--there is another somewhere   
that we still shall see6 ,there are     
finer specimens of the ,morning and     
,evening of the ,roman ,empire1 at ,lord
 ,radnor's1 in ,wiltshire4 ,those here  
have a more polished1 cleaned look1 but 
we cannot prefer them on that account4  
,in one corner of the room is a ,st4    
,bruno1 by ,andrea ,sacchi--a fine      
study1 with pale face and garments1 a   
saint dying 7as it should seem7--but as 
he dies1 conscious of an undying spirit4
 ,the old ,catholic painters put the    
soul of religion into their             
pictures--for they felt it within       
themselves4  ,there are two             
,titians--the ,woman taken in ,adultery1
 and a large mountainous landscape with 
the story of ,jupiter and ,antiope4 ,the
 last is rich and striking1 but not     
equal to his best2 and the former1 we   

think1 one of his most exceptionable    
pictures1 both in character1 and 7we    
add7 colouring4 ,in the last particular1
 it is tricky1 and discovers1 instead of
 concealing its art4 ,the flesh is not  
transparent1 but a transparency6 ,let us
 not forget a fine ,synders1 a          
,boar-hunt1 which is highly spirited and
 natural1 as far as the animals are     
concerned2 but is patchy1 and wants the 
tone and general effect that ,rubens    
would have thrown over it4 ,in the      
middle of the right-hand side of the    
room1 is the ,meeting of ,jacob and     
,laban1 by ,murillo4 ,it is a lively1   
out-of-door scene1 full of bustle and   
expression2 but it rather brings us to  
the tents and faces of two bands of     
gypsies meeting on a common heath1 than 
carries us back to the remote times1    
places1 and events1 treated of4 ,murillo
 was the painter of nature1 not of the  
imagination4 ,there is a ,sleeping      
,child by him1 over the door of the     
saloon 7an admirable cabinet-picture71  

and another of a boy1 a little spirited 
rustic1 brown1 glowing1 #8of the earth1 
earthy1' the flesh thoroughly baked1 as 
if he had come out of an oven2 and who  
regards you with a look as if he was    
afraid you might bind him apprentice to 
some trade or handicraft1 or send him to
 a ,sunday-school2 and so put an end to 
his short1 happy1 careless life--to his 
lessons from that great teacher1 the    
,sun--to his physic1 the air--to his    
bed1 the earth--and to the soul of his  
very being1 ,liberty6  ,the first room  
you enter is filled with some very good 
and some very bad ,english pictures4    
,there is ,hogarth's ,distressed        
,poet--the ,death of ,wolfe1 by ,west1  
which is not so good as the print would 
lead us to expect--an excellent         
whole-length portrait of a youth1 by    
,gainsborough--,a ,man with a ,hawk1 by 
,northcote1 and ,mrs4 ,siddons as the   
,tragic ,muse1 by ,sir ,joshua4 ,this   
portrait ,lord ,grosvenor bought the    
other day for #agfj4 ,it has risen in   

price every time it has been sold4 ,sir 
,joshua sold it for two or three hundred
 pounds to a ,mr4 ,calonne4 ,it was then
 purchased by ,mr4 ,desenfans who parted
 with it to ,mr4 ,william ,smith for a  
larger sum 7we believe #ejj72 and at the
 sale of that gentleman's pictures1 it  
was bought by ,mr4 ,watson ,taylor1 the 
last proprietor1 for a thousand guineas4
 ,while it was in the possession of ,mr4
 ,desenfans1 a copy of it was taken by a
 pupil of ,sir ,joshua's1 of the name of
 ,score1 which is now in the ,dulwich   
,gallery1 and which we always took for  
an original4 ,the size of the original  
is larger than the copy4 ,there was a   
dead child painted at the bottom of it1 
which ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds afterwards 
disliked1 and he had the canvas doubled 
upon the frame to hide it4 ,it has been 
let out again1 but we did not observe   
whether the child was there4 ,we think  
it had better not be seen4  ,we do not  
wish to draw invidious comparisons2 yet 
we may say1 in reference to the pictures

 in ,lord ,grosvenor's ,collection1 and 
those at ,cleveland-house1 that the     
former are distinguished most by        
elegance1 brilliancy1 and high          
preservation2 while those belonging to  
the ,marquis of ,stafford look more like
 old pictures1 and have a corresponding 
tone of richness and magnificence4 ,we  
have endeavoured to do justice to both1 
but we confess we have fallen very short
 even of our own hopes and expectations4
                        ,,pictures ,,at 
,,wilton1 ,,stourhead1 c4   ,salisbury  
,plain1 barren as it is1 is rich in     
collections and monuments of art4 ,there
 are1 within the distance of a few      
miles1 ,wilton1 ,longford-,castle1      
,fonthill-,abbey1 ,stourhead1 and last  
though not least worthy to be mentioned1
 ,stonehenge1 that #8huge1 dumb heap1'  
that stands on the blasted heath1 and   
looks like a group of giants1           
bewildered1 not knowing what to do1     
encumbering the earth1 and turned to    
stone1 while in the act of warring on   

,heaven4 ,an attempt has lately been    
made to give to it an antediluvian      
origin4 ,its mystic round is in all     
probability fated to remain inscrutable1
 a mighty maze without a plan3 but still
 the imagination1 when once curiosity   
and wonder have taken possession of it1 
heaves with its restless load1 launches 
conjecture farther and farther back     
beyond the landmarks of time1 and       
strives to bear down all impediments in 
its course1 as the ocean strives to     
overleap some vast promontory6          
,fonthill-,abbey1 which was formerly    
hermetically sealed against all         
intrusion1#i is at present open to the  
whole world2 and ,wilton-,house1 and    
,longford-,castle1 which were formerly  
open to every one1 are at present shut1 
except to petitioners1 and a favoured   
few4 ,why is this greater degree of     
strictness in the latter instances      
resorted to8 ,in proportion as the taste
 for works of art becomes more general1 
do these ,noble ,persons wish to set    

bounds to and disappoint public         
curiosity8 ,do they think that the      
admiration bestowed on fine pictures or 
rare sculpture lessens their value1 or  
divides the property1 as well as the    
pleasure with the possessor8 ,or do they
 think that setting aside the formality 
of these new regulations1 three persons 
in the course of a whole year would     
intrude out of an impertinent curiosity 
to see their houses and furniture1      
without having a just value for them as 
objects of art8 ,or is the expence of   
keeping servants to shew the apartments 
made the plea of this churlish1 narrow  
system8 ,the public are ready enough to 
pay servants for their attendance1 and  
those persons are quite as forward to do
 this who make a pilgrimage to such     
places on foot as those who approach    
them in a post-chaise or on horseback   
with a livery servant1 which1 it seems1 
is the prescribed and fashionable       
etiquette6 ,whatever is the cause1 we   
are sorry for it2 more particularly as  

it compels us to speak of these two     
admired ,collections from memory only4  
,it is several years since we saw them2 
but there are some impressions of this  
sort that are proof against time4  ,lord
 ,radnor has the two famous ,claudes1   
the ,morning and ,evening of the ,roman 
,empire4 ,though as landscapes they are 
neither so brilliant1 nor finished1 nor 
varied1 as some of this ,artist's1 there
 is a weight and concentration of       
historic feeling about them which many  
of his allegorical productions want4 ,in
 the first1 half-finished buildings and 
massy columns rise amidst the dawning   
effulgence that is streaked with rims of
 inextinguishable light2 and a noble    
tree in the foreground1 ample1          
luxuriant1 hangs and broods over the    
growing design4 ,there is a dim         
mistiness spread over the scene1 as in  
the beginning of things4 ,the ,evening1 
the companion to it1 is even finer4 ,it 
has all the gorgeous pomp that attends  
the meeting of ,night and ,day1 and a   

flood of glory still prevails over the  
coming shadows4 ,in the cool of the     
evening1 some cattle are feeding on the 
brink of a glassy stream1 that reflects 
a mouldering ruin on one side of the    
picture2 and so precise is the touch1 so
 true1 so firm is the pencilling1 so    
classical the outline1 that they give   
one the idea of sculptured cattle1      
biting the short1 green turf1 and seem  
an enchanted herd6 ,they appear stamped 
on the canvas to remain there for ever1 
or as if nothing could root them from   
the spot4 ,truth with beauty suggests   
the feeling of immortality4 ,no ,dutch  
picture ever suggested this feeling4    
,the objects are real1 it is true2 but  
not being beautiful or impressive1 the  
mind feels no wish to mould them into a 
permanent reality1 to bind them fondly  
on the heart1 or lock them in the       
imagination as in a sacred recess1 safe 
from the envious canker of time4 ,no one
 ever felt a longing1 a sickness of the 
heart1 to see a ,dutch landscape twice2 

but those of ,claude1 after an absence  
of years1 have this effect1 and produce 
a kind of calenture4 ,the reason of the 
difference is1 that in mere literal     
copies from nature1 where the objects   
are not interesting in themselves1 the  
only attraction is to see the felicity  
of the execution2 and having once       
witnessed this1 we are satisfied4 ,but  
there is nothing to stir the fancy1 to  
keep alive the yearnings of passion4 ,we
 remember one other picture 7and but    
one7 in ,lord ,radnor's ,collection1    
that was of this ideal character4 ,it   
was a ,magdalen by ,guido1 with         
streaming hair1 and streaming eyes      
looking upwards-full of sentiment and   
beauty4  ,there is but one fine picture 
at ,wilton-house1 the ,family ,vandyke2 
with a noble ,gallery of antique        
marbles1 which we may pronounce to be   
invaluable to the lover of art or to the
 student of history or human nature4    
,roman ,emperors or ,proconsuls1 the    
poets1 orators1 and almost all the great

 men of antiquity1 are here #8ranged in 
a row1' and palpably embodied either in 
genuine or traditional busts4 ,some of  
these indicate an almost preternatural  
capacity and inspired awfulness of look1
 particularly some of the earlier sages 
and fabulists of ,greece1 which we      
apprehend to be ideal representations2  
while other more modern and better      
authenticated ones of celebrated ,romans
 are distinguished by the strength and  
simplicity of common ,english heads of  
the best class4--,the large picture of  
the ,pembroke ,family1 by ,vandyke1 is  
unrivalled in its kind4 ,it is a history
 of the time4 ,it throws us nearly two  
centuries back to men and manners that  
no longer exist4 ,the members of a      
,noble ,house 7#8tis a hundred and sixty
 years since7 are brought together in   
propri persona1 and appear in all the   
varieties of age1 character1 and        
costume4 ,there are the old ,lord and   
,lady ,pembroke1 who #8keep their state'
 raised somewhat above the other        

groups2--the one a lively old gentleman1
 who seems as if he could once have     
whispered a flattering tale in a fair   
lady's ear2 his help-mate looking a     
little fat and sulky by his side1       
probably calculating the expence of the 
picture1 and not well understanding the 
event of it--there are the daughters1   
pretty1 well-dressed1 elegant girls1 but
 somewhat insipid1 sentimental1 and     
vacant--then there are the two eldest   
sons1 that might be said to have walked 
out of ,mr4 ,burke's description of the 
age of chivalry2 the one a perfect      
courtier1 a carpet-knight1 smooth-faced1
 handsome1 almost effeminate1 that seems
 to have moved all his life to #8the    
mood of lutes and soft recorders1'      
decked in silks and embroidery like the 
tender flower issuing from its glossy   
folds2 the other the gallant soldier1   
shrewd1 bold1 hardy1 with spurred heel  
and tawny buskins1 ready to #8mount on  
barbed steeds1 and witch the world with 
noble horsemanship'--down to the        

untutored1 carroty-headed boy1 the      
,goose-,gibbie of the piece1 who appears
 to have been just dragged from the     
farm-yard to sit for his picture1 and   
stares about him in as great a heat and 
fright as if he had dropped from the    
clouds3--all in this admirable1 living  
composition is in its place1 in keeping1
 and bears the stamp of the age and of  
the master's hand4 ,even the oak-pannels
 have an elaborate1 antiquated look1 and
 the furniture has an aspect of         
cumbrous1 conscious dignity4 ,it should 
not be omitted that it was here 7in the 
house or the adjoining magnificent      
grounds7 that ,sir ,philip ,sidney wrote
 his ,,arcadia2 and the story of        
,musidorus and ,philoclea1 of ,mopsa and
 ,dorcas1 is quaintly traced on oval    
pannels in the principal drawing-room4  
,it is on this account that we are      
compelled to find fault with the        
,collection at ,fonthill ,abbey1 because
 it exhibits no picture of remarkable   
eminence that can be ranked as an       

heir-loom of the imagination--which     
cannot be spoken of but our thoughts    
take wing and stretch themselves towards
 it--the very name of which is music to 
the instructed ear4 ,we would not give a
 rush to see any ,collection that does  
not contain some single picture at      
least1 that haunts us with an uneasy    
sense of joy for twenty miles of road1  
that may cheer us at intervals for      
twenty years of life to come4 ,without  
some such thoughts as these riveted in  
the brain1 the lover and disciple of art
 would truly be #8of all men the most   
miserable3' but with them hovering round
 him1 and ever and anon shining with    
their glad lustre into his sleepless    
soul1 he has nothing to fear from fate1 
or fortune4 ,we look1 and lo6 here is   
one at our side1 facing us1 though      
far-distant4 ,it is the ,young ,man's   
,head1 in the ,louvre1 by ,titian1 that 
is not unlike ,jeronymo della ,porretta 
in ,sir ,charles ,grandison4 ,what a    
look is there of calm1 unalterable      

self-possession--               #8,above
 all pain1 all passion1 and all pride2' 
that draws the evil out of human life1  
that while we look at it transfers the  
same sentiment to our own breasts1 and  
makes us feel as if nothing mean or     
little could ever disturb us again6     
,this is high art2 the rest is          
mechanical4 ,but there is nothing like  
this at ,fonthill 7oh6 no71 but every   
thing which is the very reverse4 ,as    
this1 however1 is an extreme opinion of 
ours1 and may be a prejudice1 we shall  
endeavour to support it by facts4 ,there
 is not then a single ,titian in all    
this boasted and expensive              
,collection--there is not a             
,raphael--there is not a ,rubens 7except
 one small sketch7--there is not a      
,guido1 nor a ,vandyke--there is not a  
,rembrandt1 there is not a ,nicolo      
,poussin1 nor a fine ,claude4 ,the two  
,altieri ,claudes1 which might have     
redeemed ,fonthill1 ,mr4 ,beckford sold4
 ,what shall we say to a ,collection1   

which uniformly and deliberately rejects
 every great work1 and every great name 
in art1 to make room for idle rarities  
and curiosities of mechanical skill8 ,it
 was hardly necessary to build a        
cathedral to set up a toy-shop6 ,who    
would paint a miniature-picture to hang 
it at the top of the ,monument8 ,this   
huge pile 7capable of better things7 is 
cut up into a parcel of little rooms1   
and those little rooms are stuck full of
 little pictures1 and bijouterie4 ,mr4  
,beckford may talk of his ,diamond      
,berchem1 and so on3 this is but the    
language of a petit-maitre in art2 but  
the author of ,,vathek 7with his leave7 
is not a petit-maitre4 ,his genius1 as a
 writer1 #8hath a devil3' his taste in  
pictures is the quintessence and        
rectified spirit of still-life4 ,he     
seems not to be susceptible of the      
poetry of painting1 or else to set his  
face against it4 ,it is obviously a     
first principle with him to exclude     
whatever has feeling or imagination--to 

polish the surface1 and suppress the    
soul of art--to proscribe1 by a sweeping
 clause or at one fell swoop1 every     
thing approaching to grace1 or beauty1  
or grandeur--to crush the sense of      
pleasure or of power in embryo--and to  
reduce all nature and art1 as far as    
possible1 to the texture and level of a 
,china dish--smooth1 glittering1 cold1  
and unfeeling6 ,we do not object so much
 to the predilection for ,teniers1      
,wouvermans1 or ,ostade--we like to see 
natural objects naturally painted--but  
we unequivocally hate the affectedly    
mean1 the elaborately little1 the       
ostentatiously perverse and distorted1  
,polemberg's walls of amber1 ,mieris's  
groups of steel1 ,vanderwerf's ivory    
flesh2--yet these are the chief delights
 of the late proprietor of              
,fonthill-abbey6 ,is it that his mind is
 #8a volcano burnt out1' and that he    
likes his senses to repose and be       
gratified with ,persian carpets and     
enamelled pictures8 ,or are there not   

traces of the same infirmity of feeling 
even in the high-souled ,vathek1 who    
compliments the complexion of the two   
pages of ,fakreddin as being equal to   
#8the porcelain of ,franguestan8' ,alas6
 ,who would have thought that the       
,caliph ,vathek would have dwindled down
 into an ,emperor of ,china and ,king of
 ,japan8 ,but so it is4--  ,stourhead1  
the seat of ,sir ,richard ,colt ,hoare1 
did not answer our expectations4 ,but   
,stourton1 the village where it stands1 
made up for our disappointment4 ,after  
passing the park-gate1 which is a       
beautiful and venerable relic1 you      
descend into ,stourton by a             
sharp-winding declivity1 almost like    
going underground1 between high hedges  
of laurel trees1 and with an expanse of 
woods and water spread beneath4 ,it is a
 sort of rural ,herculaneum1 a          
subterranean retreat4 ,the inn is like a
 modernized guard-house2 the            
village-church stands on a lawn without 
any inclosure2 a row of cottages facing 

it1 with their white-washed walls and   
flaunting honey-suckles1 are neatness   
itself4 ,every thing has an air of      
elegance1 and yet tells a tale of other 
times4 ,it is a place that might be held
 sacred to stillness and solitary       
musing6--,the adjoining mansion of      
,stourhead commands an extensive view of
 ,salisbury ,plain1 whose undulating    
swells shew the earth in its primeval   
simplicity1 bare1 with naked breasts1   
and varied in its appearance only by the
 shadows of the clouds that pass across 
it4 ,the view without is pleasing and   
singular3 there is little within-doors  
to beguile attention4 ,there is one     
master-piece of colouring by ,paul      
,veronese1 a naked child with a dog4    
,the tone of the flesh is perfection    
itself4 ,on praising this picture 7which
 we always do when we like a thing7 we  
were told it had been criticized by a   
great judge1 ,mr4 ,beckford of          
,fonthill1 who had found fault with the 
execution as too coarse and muscular4   

,we do not wonder--it is not like his   
own turnery-ware6 ,we should also       
mention an exquisite ,holbein1 the ,head
 of a ,child1 and a very pleasing little
 landscape by ,wilson4 ,besides these1  
there are some capital pen-and-ink      
drawings 7views in ,venice71 by         
,canaletti1 and three large copies after
 ,guido of the ,venus attired by the    
,graces1 the ,andromeda1 and ,herodias's
 ,daughter4 ,they breathe the soul of   
softness and grace1 and remind one of   
those fair1 sylph-like forms that       
sometimes descend upon the earth with   
fatal1 fascinating looks1 and that      
#8tempt but to betray4' ,after the      
cabinet-pictures at ,fonthill1 even a   
good copy of a ,guido is a luxury and a 
relief to the mind3 it is something to  
inhale the divine airs that play around 
his figures1 and we are satisfied if we 
can but #8trace his footsteps1 and his  
skirts far-off behold4' ,the rest of    
this ,collection is1 for the most part1 
trash3 either ,italian pictures painted 

in the beginning of the last century1 or
 ,english ones in the beginning of this4
 ,it gave us pain to see some of the    
latter2 and we willingly draw a veil    
over the humiliation of the art1 in the 
age and country that we live in4 ,we    
ought1 however1 to mention a portrait of
 a youth 7the present proprietor of     
,stourhead7 by ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1  
which is elegant1 brilliant1 #8though in
 ruins2' and a spirited portrait by     
,northcote1 of a lady talking on her    
fingers1 may1 perhaps1 challenge an     
exception for itself to the above       
general censure4  ,we wish our readers  
to go to ,petworth1 the seat of ,lord   
,egremont1 where they will find the     
coolest grottos and the finest ,vandykes
 in the world4 ,there are eight or ten  
of the latter that are not to be        
surpassed by the art of man1 and that we
 have no power either to admire or      
praise as they deserve4 ,for simplicity1
 for richness1 for truth of nature1 for 
airiness of execution1 nothing ever was 

or can be finer4 ,we will only mention  
those of the ,earl and ,countess of     
,northumberland1 ,lord ,newport1 and    
,lord ,goring1 ,lord ,strafford1 and    
,lady ,carr1 and the ,duchess of        
,devonshire4 ,he who possesses these    
portraits is rich indeed1 if he has an  
eye to see1 and a heart to feel them4   
,the one of ,lord ,northumberland in the
 ,tower is not so good1 though it is    
thought better by the multitude4 ,that  
is1 there is a subject--something to    
talk about2 but in fact1 the expression 
is not that of grief1 or thought1 or of 
dignified resignation1 but of a man in  
ill health4 ,vandyke was a mere         
portrait-painter1 but he was a perfect  
one4 ,his forte was not the romantic or 
pathetic2 he was #8of the court1        
courtly4' ,he had a patent from the hand
 of nature to paint lords and ladies in 
prosperity and quite at their ease4     
,there are some portraits by ,sir       
,joshua ,reynolds in this ,collection2  
and there are people who persist in     

naming him and ,vandyke in the same day4
 ,the rest of the ,collection consists  
7for the most part7 of staircase and    
family pictures4 ,but there are some    
admirable statues to be seen here1 that 
it would ask a morning's leisure to     
study properly4                         
,,pictures ,,at ,,burleigh ,,house#aj   
,burleigh6 thy groves are leafless1 thy 
walls are naked--                 #8,and
 dull1 cold winter does inhabit here4'  
,the yellow evening rays gleam through  
thy fretted ,gothic windows2 but ,i only
 feel the rustling of withered branches 
strike chill to my breast2 it was not so
 twenty years ago4 ,thy groves were     
leafless then as now3 it was the middle 
of winter twice that ,i visited thee    
before2 but the lark mounted in the sky1
 and the sun smote my youthful blood    
with its slant ray1 and the ploughman   
whistled as he drove his team afield2   
,hope spread out its glad vistas through
 thy fair domains1 oh1 ,burleigh6 ,fancy
 decked thy walls with works of         

sovereign art1 and it was spring1 not   
winter1 in my breast4 ,all is still the 
same1 like a petrification of the       
mind--the same things in the same       
places2 but their effect is not the same
 upon me4 ,i am twenty years the worse  
for wear and tear4 ,what is become of   
the never-ending studious thoughts that 
brought their own reward or promised    
good to mankind8 of the tears that      
started welcome and unbidden8 of the    
sighs that whispered future peace8 of   
the smiles that shone1 not in my face   
indeed1 but that cheered my heart1 and  
made a sunshine there when all was gloom
 around8 ,that fairy vision--that       
invisible glory1 by which ,i was once   
attended--ushered into life1 has left my
 side1 and #8faded to the light of      
common day1' and ,i now see what is1 or 
has been--not what may lie hid in       
,time's bright circle and golden        
chaplet6 ,perhaps this is the           
characteristic difference between youth 
and a later period of life--that we1 by 

degrees1 learn to take things more as we
 find them1 call them more by their     
right names2 that we feel the warmth of 
summer1 but the winter's cold as well2  
that we see beauties1 but can spy       
defects in the fairest face2 and no     
longer look at every thing through the  
genial atmosphere of our own existence4 
,we grow more literal and less credulous
 every day1 lose much enjoyment1 and    
gain some useful1 and more useless      
knowledge4 ,the second time ,i passed   
along the road that skirts ,burleigh    
,park1 the morning was dank and #8ways  
were mire4' ,i saw and felt it not3 my  
mind was otherwise engaged4 ,ah6 thought
 ,i1 there is that fine old head by     
,rembrandt2 there within those cold grey
 walls1 the painter of old age is       
enshrined1 immortalized in some of his  
inimitable works6 ,the name of          
,rembrandt lives in the fame of him who 
stamped it with renown1 while the name  
of ,burleigh is kept up by the present  
owner4 ,an artist survives in the issue 

of his brain to all posterity--a lord is
 nothing without the issue of his body  
lawfully begotten1 and is lost in a long
 line of illustrious ancestors4 ,so much
 higher is genius than rank--such is the
 difference between fame and title6 ,a  
great name in art lasts for             
centuries--it requires twenty           
generations of a noble house to keep    
alive the memory of the first founder   
for the same length of time4 ,so ,i     
reasoned1 and was not a little proud of 
my discovery4  ,in this dreaming mood1  
dreaming of deathless works and         
deathless names1 ,i went on to          
,peterborough1 passing1 as it were1     
under an arch-way of ,fame1             
----#8and still walking under1          
,found some new matter to look up and   
wonder4'  ,i had business there3 ,i will
 not say what4 ,i could at this time do 
nothing4 ,i could not write a line--,i  
could not draw a stroke4 #8,i was       
brutish2' though not #8like warlike as  
the wolf1 nor subtle as the fox for     

prey4' ,in words1 in looks1 in deeds1 ,i
 was no better than a changeling4 ,why  
then do ,i set so much value on my      
existence formerly8 ,oh ,god6 that ,i   
could but be for one day1 one hour1 nay 
but for an instant1 7to feel it in all  
the plentitude of unconscious bliss1 and
 take one long1 last1 lingering draught 
of that full brimming cup of thoughtless
 freedom17 what then ,i was--that ,i    
might1 as in a trance1 a waking dream1  
hear the hoarse murmur of the bargemen1 
as the ,minster tower appeared in the   
dim twilight1 come up from the willowy  
stream1 sounding low and underground    
like the voice of the bittern--that ,i  
might paint that field opposite the     
window where ,i lived1 and feel that    
there was a green1 dewy moisture in the 
tone1 beyond my pencil's reach1 but thus
 gaining almost a new sense1 and        
watching the birth of new objects       
without me--that ,i might stroll down   
,peterborough bank1 7a winter's day17   
and see the fresh marshes stretching out

 in endless level perspective1 7as if   
,paul ,potter had painted them17 with   
the cattle1 the windmills1 and the      
red-tiled cottages1 gleaming in the sun 
to the very verge of the horizon1 and   
watch the fieldfares in innumerable     
flocks1 gamboling in the air1 and       
sporting in the sun1 and racing before  
the clouds1 making summersaults1 and    
dazzling the eye by throwing themselves 
into a thousand figures and             
movements--that ,i might go1 as then1 a 
pilgrimage to the town where my mother  
was born1 and visit the poor farm-house 
where she was brought up1 and lean upon 
the gate where she told me she used to  
stand when a child of ten years old and 
look at the setting sun6--,i could do   
all this still2 but with different      
feelings4 ,as our hopes leave us1 we    
lose even our interest and regrets for  
the past4 ,i had at this time1 simple as
 ,i seemed1 many resources4 ,i could in 
some sort #8play at bowls with the sun  
and moon2' or1 at any rate1 there was no

 question in metaphysics that ,i could  
not bandy to and fro1 as one might play 
at cup-and-ball1 for twenty1 thirty1    
forty miles of the great ,north ,road1  
and at it again1 the next day1 as fresh 
as ever4 ,i soon get tired of this now1 
and wonder how ,i managed formerly4 ,i  
knew ,tom ,jones by heart1 and was deep 
in ,peregrine ,pickle4 ,i was intimately
 acquainted with all the heroes and     
heroines of ,richardson's romances1 and 
could turn from one to the other as ,i  
pleased4 ,i could con over that single  
passage in ,pamela about #8her lumpish  
heart1' and never have done admiring the
 skill of the author and the truth of   
nature4 ,i had my sports and recreations
 too1 some such as these following3--   
#8,to see the sun to bed1 and to arise1 
,like some hot amourist1 with glowing   
eyes           ,bursting the lazy bands 
of sleep that bound him1           ,with
 all his fires and travelling glories   
round him4           ,sometimes the moon
 on soft night clouds to rest1          

,like beauty nestling in a young man's  
breast1           ,and all the winking  
stars1 her handmaids1 keep              
,admiring silence while those lovers    
sleep4           ,sometimes outstretcht1
 in very idleness1           ,nought    
doing1 saying little1 thinking less1    
,to view the leaves1 thin dancers upon  
air1           ,go eddying round and    
small birds how they fare1              
,when ,mother ,autumn fills their beaks 
with corn1           ,filch'd from the  
careless ,amalthea's horn3              
,and how the woods berries and worms    
provide           ,without their pains1 
when earth has nought beside            
,to answer their small wants4           
,to view the graceful deer come tripping
 by1           ,then stop and gaze1 then
 turn1 they know not why1               
,like bashful younkers in society4      
,to mark the structure of a plant or    
tree1           ,and all fair things of 
earth1 how fair they be4'  ,i have      
wandered far enough from ,burleigh      

,house2 but ,i had some associations    
about it which ,i could not well get rid
 of1 without troubling the reader with  
them4  ,the ,rembrandts disappointed me 
quite4 ,i could hardly find a trace of  
the impression which had been inlaid in 
my imagination4 ,i might as well        
#8,hunt half a day for a forgotten      
dream4'  ,instead of broken wrinkles and
 indented flesh1 ,i saw hard lines and  
stained canvas4 ,i had seen better      
,rembrandts since1 and had learned to   
see nature better4 ,was it a            
disadvantage1 then1 that for twenty     
years ,i had carried this fine idea in  
my brain1 enriching it from time to time
 from my observations of nature or art1 
and raising it as they were raised2 or  
did it much signify that it was         
disturbed at last8 ,neither4 ,the       
picture was nothing to me3 it was the   
idea it had suggested4 ,the one hung on 
the wall at ,burleigh2 the other was an 
heir-loom in my mind4 ,was it destroyed1
 because the picture1 after long        

absence1 did not answer to it8 ,no4     
,there were other pictures in the world 
that did1 and objects in nature still   
more perfect4 ,this is the melancholy   
privilege of art2 it exists chiefly in  
idea1 and is not liable to serious      
reverses4 ,if we are disappointed in the
 character of one we love1 it breaks the
 illusion altogether2 for we drew       
certain consequences from a face4 ,if an
 old friendship is broken up1 we cannot 
tell how to replace it1 without the aid 
of habit and a length of time4 ,but a   
picture is nothing but a face2 it       
interests us only in idea4 ,hence we    
need never be afraid of raising our     
standard of taste too high2 for the mind
 rises with it1 exalted and refined1 and
 can never be much injured by finding   
out its casual mistakes4 ,like the      
possessor of a splendid collection1 who 
is indifferent to or turns away from    
common pictures1 we have a selector     
gallery in our own minds4 ,in this      
sense1 the knowledge of art is its own  

exceeding great reward4 ,but is there   
not danger that we may become too       
fastidious1 and have nothing left to    
admire8 ,none3 for the conceptions of   
the human soul cannot rise superior to  
the power of art2 or if they do1 then we
 have surely every reason to be         
satisfied with them4 ,the mind1 in what 
depends upon itself alone1 #8soon rises 
from defeat unhurt1' though its pride   
may be for a moment #8humbled by such   
rebuke1'                 #8,and in its  
liquid texture mortal wound             
,receives no more than can the fluid    
air4'  ,as an illustration of the same  
thing1 there are two ,claudes at        
,burleigh1 which certainly do not come  
up to the celebrity of the artist's     
name4 ,they did not please me formerly3 
the sky1 the water1 the trees seemed all
 too blue1 too much of the colour of    
indigo4 ,but ,i believed1 and wondered4 
,i could no longer admire these         
specimens of the artist at present1 but 
assuredly my admiration of the artist   

himself was not less than before2 for   
since then1 ,i had seen other works by  
the same hand1                          
----#8inimitable on earth               
,by model or by shading pencil drawn1'--
  surpassing every idea that the mind   
could form of art1 except by having seen
 them4 ,i remember one in particular    
that ,walsh ,porter had 7a bow-shot     
beyond all others7--a vernal landscape1 
an #8,hesperian fable true1' with a blue
 unclouded sky1 and green trees and grey
 turrets and an unruffled sea beyond4   
,but never was there sky so soft or     
trees so clad with spring1 such         
air-drawn towers or such halcyon seas3  
,zephyr seemed to fan the air1 and      
,nature looked on and smiled4 ,the name 
of ,claude has alone something in it    
that softens and harmonises the mind4   
,it touches a magic chord4 ,oh6         
matchless scenes1 oh6 orient skies1     
bright with purple and gold2 ye opening 
glades and distant sunny vales1         
glittering with fleecy flocks1 pour all 

your enchantment into my soul1 let it   
reflect your chastened image1 and forget
 all meaner things6 ,perhaps the most   
affecting tribute to the memory of this 
great artist is the character drawn of  
him by an eminent master1 in his ,dream 
of a ,painter4    #8,on a sudden ,i was 
surrounded by a thick cloud or mist1 and
 my guide   wafted me through the air1  
till we alighted on a most delicious    
rural spot4 ,i perceived it was the     
early hour of the morn1 when the   sun  
had not risen above the horizon4 ,we    
were alone1 except that at a   little   
distance a young shepherd played on his 
flageolet as he   walked before his     
herd1 conducting them from the fold to  
the   pasture4 ,the elevated pastoral   
air he played charmed me by its         
simplicity1 and seemed to animate his   
obedient flock4 ,the atmosphere   was   
clear and perfectly calm3 and now the   
rising sun gradually   illumined the    
fine landscape1 and began to discover to
 our view the   distant country of      

immense extent4 ,i stood awhile in      
expectation of   what might next present
 itself of dazzling splendour1 when the 
only   object which appeared to fill    
this natural1 grand1 and simple scene1  
was a rustic who entered1 not far from  
the place where we stood1 who   by his  
habiliments seemed nothing better than a
 peasant2 he led a   poor little ass1   
which was loaded with all the implements
 required   by a painter in his work4   
,after advancing a few paces he stood   
still1 and with an air of rapture seemed
 to contemplate the rising   sun3 he    
next fell on his knees1 directed his    
eyes towards heaven1   crossed himself1 
and then went on with eager looks1 as if
 to make   choice of the most           
advantageous spot from which to make his
 studies   as a painter4 8,this10 said  
my conductor1 8is that ,claude ,gele of 
,lorraine1 who1 nobly disdaining the low
 employment to which he was   originally
 bred1 left it with all its advantages  
of competence and   ease to embrace his 

present state of poverty1 in order to   
adorn the   world with works of most    
accomplished excellence40'  ,there is a 
little ,paul ,brill at ,burleigh1 in the
 same room with the ,rembrandts1 that   
dazzled me many years ago1 and delighted
 me the other day4 ,it looked as        
sparkling as if the sky came through the
 frame4 ,i found1 or fancied ,i found1  
those pictures the best that ,i         
remembered before1 though they might in 
the interval have faded a little to my  
eyes1 or lost some of their original    
brightness4 ,i did not see the small    
head of ,queen ,mary by ,holbein1 which 
formerly struck me so forcibly2 but ,i  
have little doubt respecting it1 for    
,holbein was a sure hand2 he only wanted
 effect1 and this picture looked through
 you4 ,one of my old favourites was the 
,head of an ,angel1 by ,guido1 nearly a 
profile1 looking up1 and with wings     
behind the back4 ,it was hung lower than
 it used to be1 and had1 ,i thought1 a  
look less arial1 less heavenly2 but     

there was still a pulpy softness in it1 
a tender grace1 an expression           
unutterable--which only the pencil1 his 
pencil1 could convey6 ,and are we not   
then beholden to the art for these      
glimpses of ,paradise8 ,surely1 there is
 a sweetness in ,guido's heads1 as there
 is also a music in his name4 ,if       
,raphael did more1 it was not with the  
same ease4 ,his heads have more meaning2
 but ,guido's have a look of youthful   
innocence1 which his are without4 ,as to
 the boasted picture of ,christ by      
,carlo ,dolce1 if a well-painted        
table-cloth and silver-cup are worth    
three thousand guineas1 the picture is  
so1 but not else4 ,yet one touch of     
,paul ,veronese is worth all this       
enamelling twice over4 ,the head has a  
wretched mawkish expression1 utterly    
unbecoming the character it professes to
 represent4 ,but ,i will say no more    
about it4 ,the ,bath of ,seneca is one  
of ,luca ,jordano's best performances1  
and has considerable interest and       

effect4 ,among other historical designs1
 there is one of ,jacob's ,dream1 with  
the angels ascending and descending on a
 kind of stairs4 ,the conception is very
 answerable to the subject2 but the     
execution is not in any high degree     
spirited or graceful4 ,the mind goes    
away no gainer from the picture4        
,rembrandt alone perhaps could add any  
thing to this subject4 ,of him it might 
be said1 that #8his light shone in      
darkness6'--,the wreaths of flowers and 
foliage carved in wood on the wainscots 
and ceiling of many of the rooms1 by the
 celebrated ,grinling ,gibbons in       
,charles the ,second's time1 shew a     
wonderful lightness and facility of     
hand1 and give pleasure to the eye4 ,the
 other ornaments and curiosities ,i need
 not mention1 as they are carefully     
pointed out by the housekeeper to the   
admiring visitor4 ,there are two heads1 
however1 7one of them happens to have a 
screen placed before it7 which ,i would 
by no means wish any one to pass over1  

who is an artist1 or feels the slightest
 interest in the art4 ,they are1 ,i     
should suppose unquestionably1 the      
original studies by ,raphael of the     
heads of the ,virgin and ,joseph in his 
famous picture of the ,madonna of the   
,crown4 ,the ,virgin is particularly    
beautiful1 and in the finest            
preservation1 as indeed are all his     
genuine pictures4 ,the canvas is not    
quite covered in some places2 the       
colours are as fresh as if newly laid   
on1 and the execution is as firm and    
vigorous as if his hand had just left   
it4 ,it shews us how this artist        
wrought4 ,the head is1 no doubt1 a      
highly-finished study from nature1 done 
for a particular purpose1 and worked up 
according to the painter's conception1  
but still retaining all the force and   
truth of individuality4 ,he got all he  
could from ,nature1 and gave all he     
could to her in return4 ,if ,raphael had
 merely sketched this divine face on the
 canvas from the idea in his own mind1  

why not stamp it on the larger          
composition at once8 ,he could work it  
up and refine upon it there just as     
well1 and it would almost necessarily   
undergo some alteration in being        
transferred thither afterwards4 ,but if 
it was done as a careful copy from      
,nature in the first instance1 the      
present was the only way in which he    
could proceed1 or indeed by which he    
could arrive at such consummate         
excellence4 ,the head of the ,joseph    
7leaning on the hand and looking down7  
is fine1 but neither so fine as the     
companion to it1 nor is it by any means 
so elaborately worked up in the sketch  
before us4  ,i am no teller of stories2 
but there is one belonging to           
,burleigh-,house1 of which ,i happen to 
know some of the particulars4 ,the late 
,earl of ,exeter had been divorced from 
his first wife1 a woman of fashion1 and 
of somewhat more gaiety of manners than 
#8lords who love their ladies like4' ,he
 determined to seek out a second wife in

 an humbler sphere of life1 and that it 
should be one who1 having no knowledge  
of his rank1 should love him for himself
 alone4 ,for this purpose1 he went and  
settled incognito 7under the name of    
,mr4 ,jones7 at ,hodnet1 an obscure     
village in ,shropshire4 ,he made        
overtures to one or two damsels in the  
neighbourhood1 but they were too knowing
 to be taken in by him4 ,his manners    
were not boorish1 his mode of life was  
retired1 it was odd how he got his      
livelihood1 and at last1 he began to be 
taken for a highwayman4 ,in this dilemma
 he turned to ,miss ,hoggins1 the eldest
 daughter of a small farmer1 at whose   
house he lodged4 ,miss ,hoggins1 it     
might seem1 had not been used to romp   
with the clowns3 there was something in 
the manners of their quiet1 but         
eccentric guest that she liked4 ,as he  
found that he had inspired her with that
 kind of regard which he wished for1 he 
made honourable proposals to her1 and at
 the end of some months1 they were      

married1 without his letting her know   
who he was4 ,they set off in a          
post-chaise from her father's house1 and
 travelled homewards across the country4
 ,in this manner they arrived at        
,stamford1 and passed through the town  
without stopping1 till they came to the 
entrance of ,burleigh-,park1 which is on
 the outside of it4 ,the gates flew     
open1 the chaise entered1 and drove down
 the long avenue of trees that leads up 
to the front of this fine old mansion4  
,as they drew nearer to it1 and she     
seemed a little surprised where they    
were going1 he said1 #8,well1 my dear1  
this is ,burleigh-,house2 it is the home
 ,i have promised to bring you to1 and  
you are the ,countess of ,exeter6' ,it  
is said1 the shock of this discovery was
 too much for this young creature1 and  
that she never recovered it4 ,it was a  
sensation worth dying for4 ,the world we
 live in was worth making1 had it been  
only for this4 ,ye ,thousand and ,one   
,tales of the ,arabian ,night's         

,entertainment6 hide your diminished    
heads6 ,i never wish to have been a     
lord1 but when ,i think of this story4  
,,pictures ,,at ,,oxford ,,and          
,,blenheim   ,rome has been called the  
#8,sacred ,city3'--might not our ,oxford
 be called so too8 ,there is an air     
about it1 resonant of joy and hope3 it  
speaks with a thousand tongues to the   
heart3 it waves its mighty shadow over  
the imagination3 it stands in lowly     
sublimity1 on the #8hill of ages2' and  
points with prophetic fingers to the    
sky3 it greets the eager gaze from afar1
 #8with glistering spires and pinnacles 
adorned1' that shine with an internal   
light as with the lustre of setting     
suns2 and a dream and a glory hover     
round its head1 as the spirits of former
 times1 a throng of intellectual shapes1
 are seen retreating or advancing to the
 eye of memory3 its streets are paved   
with the names of learning that can     
never wear out3 its green quadrangles   
breathe the silence of thought1         

conscious of the weight of yearnings    
innumerable after the past1 of loftiest 
aspirations for the future3 ,isis       
babbles of the ,muse1 its waters are    
from the springs of ,helicon1 its       
,christ-,church meadows1 classic1       
,elysian fields6--,we could pass our    
lives in ,oxford without having or      
wanting any other idea--that of the     
place is enough4 ,we imbibe the air of  
thought2 we stand in the presence of    
learning4 ,we are admitted into the     
,temple of ,fame1 we feel that we are in
 the sanctuary1 on holy ground1 and     
#8hold high converse with the mighty    
dead4' ,the enlightened and the ignorant
 are on a level1 if they have but faith 
in the tutelary genius of the place4 ,we
 may be wise by proxy1 and studious by  
prescription4 ,time has taken upon      
himself the labour of thinking2 and     
accumulated libraries leave us leisure  
to be dull4 ,there is no occasion to    
examine the buildings1 the churches1 the
 colleges1 by the rules of architecture1

 to reckon up the streets1 to compare it
 with ,cambridge 7,cambridge lies out of
 the way1 on one side of the world7--but
 woe to him who does not feel in passing
 through ,oxford that he is in #8no mean
 city1' that he is surrounded with the  
monuments and lordly mansions of the    
mind of man1 outvying in pomp and       
splendour the courts and palaces of     
princes1 rising like an exhalation in   
the night of ignorance1 and triumphing  
over barbaric foes1 saying1 #8,all eyes 
shall see me1 and all knees shall bow to
 me6'--as the shrine where successive   
ages came to pay their pious vows1 and  
slake the sacred thirst of knowledge1   
where youthful hopes 7an endless flight7
 soared to truth and good1 and where the
 retired and lonely student brooded over
 the historic or over fancy's page1     
imposing high tasks for himself1 framing
 high destinies for the race of man--the
 lamp1 the mine1 the well-head from     
whence the spark of learning was        
kindled1 its stream flowed1 its         

treasures were spread out through the   
remotest corners of the land and to     
distant nations4 ,let him then who is   
fond of indulging in a dream-like       
existence go to ,oxford and stay there2 
let him study this magnificent          
spectacle1 the same under all aspects1  
with its mental twilight tempering the  
glare of noon1 or mellowing the silver  
moonlight2 let him wander in her sylvan 
suburbs1 or linger in her cloistered    
halls2 but let him not catch the din of 
scholars or teachers1 or dine or sup    
with them1 or speak a word to any of the
 privileged inhabitants2 for if he does1
 the spell will be broken1 the poetry   
and the religion gone1 and the palace of
 enchantment will melt from his embrace 
into thin air6  ,the only ,collection of
 ,pictures at ,oxford is that at the    
,radcliffe ,library2 bequeathed by ,sir 
,william ,guise4 ,it is so far          
appropriate that it is dingy1 solemn1   
old2 and we would gladly leave it to its
 repose2 but where criticism comes1     

affection #8clappeth his wings1 and     
straightway he is gone4' ,most of the   
pictures are either copies1 or spoiled1 
or never were good for any thing4 ,there
 is1 however1 a ,music ,piece by        
,titian1 which bears the stamp of his   
hand1 and is #8majestic1 though in      
ruins4' ,it represents three young      
ladies practising at a harpsichord1 with
 their music-master looking on4 ,one of 
the girls is tall1 with prominent       
features seen in profile1 but           
exquisitely fair1 and with a grave      
expression2 the other is a lively1      
good-humoured girl1 in a front view2 and
 the third leans forward from behind1   
looking down with a demure1 reserved1   
sentimental cast of countenance1 but    
very pretty1 and much like an ,english  
face4 ,the teacher has a manly1         
intelligent countenance1 with a certain 
blended air of courtesy and authority4  
,it is a fascinating picture1 to our    
thinking2 and has that marked           
characteristic look1 belonging to each  

individual and to the subject1 which is 
always to be found in ,titian's groups4 
,we also noticed a dingy1               
melancholy-looking ,head over the window
 of the farthest room1 said to be a     
,portrait of ,vandyke1 with something   
striking in the tone and expression2 and
 a small ,adam and ,eve driven out of   
,paradise1 attributed to ,giuseppe      
,ribera1 which has considerable merit4  
,the amateur will here find continual   
copies 7of an indifferent class7 of many
 of his old favourite pictures of the   
,italian school1 ,titian1 ,domenichino1 
,correggio1 and others4 ,but the most   
valuable part of the ,collection        
consists of four undoubted ,heads cut   
out of one of the ,cartoons1 which was  
destroyed by fire about a hundred years 
ago3 they are here preserved in their   
pristine integrity4 ,they shew us what  
the ,cartoons were4 ,they have all the  
spirit and freedom of ,raphael's hand1  
but without any of the blotches and     
smearing of those at ,hampton ,court2   

with which the damp of outhouses and the
 dews of heaven have evidently had      
nearly as much to do as the painter4    
,two are ,heads of men1 and two of      
women2 one of the last1 ,rachel weeping 
for her ,children1 and another still    
finer 7both are profiles7 in which all  
the force and boldness of masculine     
understanding is combined with feminine 
softness of expression4 ,the large1     
ox-like eye1 a #8lucid mirror1' with the
 eye-lids drooping1 and the long        
eye-lashes distinctly marked1 the       
straight scrutinizing nose1 the full1   
but closed lips1 the matronly chin and  
high forehead1 altogether convey a      
character of matured thought and        
expansive feeling1 such as is seldom to 
be met with4 ,rachel weeping for her    
,children has a sterner and more        
painful1 but a very powerful expression4
 ,it is heroic1 rather than pathetic4   
,the ,heads of the men are spirited and 
forcible1 but they are distinguished    
chiefly by the firmness of the outline1 

and the sharpness and mastery of the    
execution4                    99        
99       99       99       99  ,blenheim
 is a morning's walk from ,oxford1 and  
is not an unworthy appendage to it--    
#8,and fast by hanging in a golden chain
                ,this pendent world1 in 
bigness as a star                ,of    
smallest magnitude1 close by the moon6' 
,blenheim is not inferior in waving     
woods and sloping lawns and smooth      
waters to ,pembroke's princely domain1  
or to the grounds of any other park we  
know of4 ,the building itself is        
,gothic1 capricious1 and not imposing--a
 conglomeration of pigeon-houses--      
#8,in form resembling a goose pie4'     
,but as a receptacle for works of art1  
7with the exception of ,cleveland       
,house17 it is unrivalled in this       
country4 ,there is not a bad picture in 
it3 the interest is sustained by rich   
and noble performances from first to    
last4 ,it abounds in ,rubens' works4    
,the old ,duchess of ,marlborough was   

fond of the historical pieces of this   
great painter2 she had1 during her      
husband's wars and negociations in      
,flanders1 a fine opportunity of culling
 them1 #8as one picks pears1 saying1    
this ,i like1 that ,i like still        
better3' and from the selection she has 
made1 it appears as if she understood   
the master's genius well4 ,she has      
chosen those of his works which were    
most mellow1 and at the same time       
gorgeous in colouring1 most luxuriant in
 composition1 most unctuous in          
expression4 ,rubens was the only artist 
that could have embodied some of our    
countryman ,spenser's splendid and      
voluptuous allegories4 ,if a painter    
among ourselves were to attempt a       
,,spenser ,,gallery1 7perhaps the finest
 subject for the pencil in the world    
after ,heathen mythology and ,scripture 
,history17 he ought to go and study the 
principles of his design at             
,blenheim6--,the ,silenus and the ,rape 
of ,proserpine contain more of the      

,bacchanalian and lawless spirit of     
ancient fable than perhaps any two      
pictures extant4 ,we shall not dispute  
that ,nicolas ,poussin could probably   
give more of the abstract1 metaphysical 
character of his traditional personages1
 or that ,titian could set them off     
better1 so as to #8leave stings' in the 
eye of the spectator1 by a prodigious   
gusto of colouring1 as in his ,bacchus  
and ,ariadne3 but neither of them gave  
the same undulating outline1 the same   
humid1 pulpy tone to the flesh1 the same
 graceful involution to the grouping and
 the forms1 the same animal spirits1 the
 same breathing motion4 ,let any one    
look at the figure of the ,silenus in   
the first-mentioned of these            
compositions1 its unwieldy size1 its    
reeling1 drunken attitude1 its capacity 
for revelling in gross1 sensual         
enjoyment1 and contrast it with the     
figure of the nymph1 so light1 so       
wanton1 so fair1 that her clear crystal 
skin and laughing grace spread a ruddy  

glow1 and account for the giddy tumult  
all around her2 and say if any thing    
finer in this kind was ever executed or 
imagined4 ,in that sort of licentious   
fancy1 in which a certain grossness of  
expression bordered on caricature1 and  
where grotesque or enticing form was to 
be combined with free and rapid         
movements1 or different tones and       
colours were to be flung over the       
picture as in sport or in a dance1 no   
one ever surpassed the ,flemish painter2
 and some of the greatest triumphs of   
his pencil are to be found in the       
,blenheim ,gallery4 ,there are several  
others of his best pictures on sacred   
subjects1 such as the ,flight into      
,egypt1 and the illustration of the     
text1 #8,suffer little children to come 
unto me4' ,the head and figure and      
deportment of the ,christ1 in this last 
admirable production1 are nobly         
characteristic 7beyond what the painter 
usually accomplished in this            
department7--the face of a woman holding

 a young child1 pale1 pensive1 with     
scarce any shadow1 and the head of the  
child itself 7looking as vacant and     
satisfied as if the nipple had just     
dropped from its mouth7 are actually    
alive4 ,those who can look at this      
picture with indifference1 or without   
astonishment at the truth of nature1 and
 the felicity of execution1 may rest    
assured that they know as little of     
,rubens as of the ,art itself4 ,vandyke1
 the scholar and rival of ,rubens1 holds
 the next place in this ,collection4    
,there is here1 as in so many other     
places1 a picture of the famous ,lord   
,strafford1 with his ,secretary--both   
speaking heads1 and with the characters 
finely diversified4 ,we were struck also
 by the delightful family picture of the
 ,duchess of ,buckingham and her        
,children1 but not so much 7we confess  
it7 as we expected from our recollection
 of this picture a few years ago4 ,it   
had less the effect of a perfect mirror 
of fashion in #8the olden time1' than we

 fancied to ourselves--the little girl  
had less exquisite primness and studied 
gentility1 the little boy had not the   
same chubby1 good-humoured look1 and the
 colours in his cheek had faded--nor had
 the mother the same graceful1          
matron-like air4 ,is it we or the       
picture that has changed8 ,in general   
our expectations tally pretty well with 
our after-observations1 but there was a 
falling-off in the present instance4    
,there is a fine whole-length of a lady 
of quality of that day 7we think ,lady  
,cleveland72 but the master-piece of    
,vandyke's pencil here is his ,charles  
,i4 on ,horseback4 ,it is the famous    
cream or fawn-coloured horse1 which1 of 
all the creatures that ever were        
painted1 is surely one of the most      
beautiful4                              
#8,sure never were seen                 
,two such beautiful ponies2             
,all others are brutes1                 
,but these macaronies4'  ,its steps are 
delicate1 as if it moved to some soft   

measure or courtly strain1 or disdained 
the very ground it trod upon2 its form  
all lightness and elegance3 the         
expression quick and fiery2 the colour  
inimitable2 the texture of the skin     
sensitive and tremblingly alive all     
over1 as if it would shrink from the    
smallest touch4 ,the portrait of        
,charles is not equal2 but there is a   
landscape-background1 which in breezy   
freshness seems almost to rival the airy
 spirit and delicacy of the noble       
animal4 ,there are also one or two fine 
,rembrandts 7particularly a ,jacob and  
,esau7--an early ,raphael1 the          
,adoration of some saint1 hard and      
stiff1 but carefully designed2 and a    
fine1 sensible1 graceful head of the    
,fornarina1 of which we have a common   
and well-executed engraving4  #8,but did
 you see the ,titian room8'--,yes1 we   
did1 and a glorious treat it was2 nor do
 we know why it should not be shewn to  
every one4 ,there is nothing alarming   
but the title of the subjects--,the     

,loves of the ,gods--just as was the    
case with ,mr4 ,t4 ,moore's ,loves of   
the ,angels--but oh6 how differently    
treated6 ,what a gusto in the first1    
compared with the insipidity of the     
last6 ,what streaks of living           
blood-colour1 so unlike gauze spangles  
or pink silk-stockings6 ,what union1    
what symmetry of form1 instead of       
sprawling1 flimsy descriptions--what an 
expression of amorous enjoyment about   
the mouth1 the eyes1 and even to the    
finger-ends1 instead of cold conceits1  
and moonlight similes6 ,this is en      
passant2 so to our task4--,it is said   
these pictures were discovered in an old
 lumber-room by ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 
who set a high value on them1 and that  
they are undoubtedly by ,titian1 having 
been originally sent over as a present  
by the ,king of ,sardinia 7for whose    
ancestor they were painted7 to the first
 ,duke of ,marlborough4 ,we should      
7without1 however1 pretending to set up 
an opinion7 incline1 from the internal  

evidence1 to think them from the pencil 
of the great ,venetian1 but for two     
circumstances3 the first is the texture 
of the skin2 and secondly1 they do not  
compose well as pictures4 ,they have no 
back-ground to set them off1 but a most 
ridiculous trellis-work1 representing   
nothing1 hung round them2 and the flesh 
looks monotonous and hard1 like the rind
 of fruit4 ,on the other hand1 this last
 objection seems to be answered         
satisfactorily enough1 and without      
impugning the skill of the artist2 for  
the pictures are actually painted on    
skins of leather4 ,in all other         
respects1 they might assuredly be by    
,titian1 and we know of no other painter
 who was capable of achieving their     
various excellences4 ,the drawing of the
 female figures is correct and elegant  
in a high degree1 and might be supposed 
to be borrowed from classic sculpture1  
but that it is more soft1 more feminine1
 more lovely4 ,the colouring1 with the  
exception already stated1 is true1      

spirited1 golden1 harmonious4 ,the      
grouping and attitudes are heroic1 the  
expression in some of the faces divine4 
,we do not mean1 of course1 that it     
possesses the elevation or purity that  
,raphael or ,correggio could give1 but  
it is warmer1 more thrilling and        
ecstatic4 ,there is the glow and        
ripeness of a more genial clime1 the    
purple light of love1 crimsoned blushes1
 looks bathed in rapture1 kisses with   
immortal sweetness in their taste--,nay1
 then1 let the reader go and see the    
pictures1 and no longer lay the blame of
 this extravagance on us4 ,we may at any
 rate repeat the subjects4 ,they are    
eight in number4 #a4 ,mars and ,venus4  
,the ,venus is well worthy to be called 
the ,queen of ,love1 for shape1 for air1
 for every thing4 ,her redoubted lover  
is a middle-aged1 ill-looking gentleman1
 clad in a buff-jerkin1 and somewhat of 
a formalist in his approaches and mode  
of address2 but there is a ,cupid       
playing on the floor1 who might well    

turn the world upside down4 #b4 ,cupid  
and ,psyche4 ,the ,cupid is perhaps     
rather a gawky1 awkward stripling1 with 
eager1 open-mouthed wonder3 but did ever
 creature of mortal mould see any thing 
comparable to the back and limbs of the 
,psyche1 or conceive or read any thing  
equal to it1 but that unique description
 in the ,troilus and ,cressida of       
,chaucer8 #c4 ,apollo and ,daphne4 ,not 
equal to the rest4 #d4 ,hercules and    
,dejanira4 ,the female figure in this   
picture is full of grace and animation1 
and the arms that are twined round the  
great son of ,jove are elastic as a     
bended bow4 #e4 ,vulcan and ,ceres4 #f4 
,pluto and ,proserpine4 #g4 ,jupiter and
 ,io4 ,very fine4 ,and finest of all1   
and last1 ,neptune and ,amphitrite4 ,in 
this last work it seems #8as if increase
 of appetite did grow with what it fed  
on4' ,what a face is that of ,amphitrite
 for beauty and for sweetness of        
expression6 ,one thing is remarkable in 
these groups 7with the exception of two7

 which is that the lovers are all of    
them old men2 but then they retain their
 beards 7according to the custom of the 
good old times67 and this makes not only
 a picturesque contrast1 but gives a    
beautiful softness and youthful delicacy
 to the female faces opposed to them4   
,upon the whole1 this series of historic
 compositions well deserves the         
attention of the artist and the         
connoisseur1 and perhaps some light     
might be thrown upon the subject of     
their authenticity by turning over some 
old portfolios4 ,we have heard a hint   
thrown out that the designs are of a    
date prior to ,titian4 ,but #8we are    
ignorance itself in this6'              
,,appendix   ,,criticism ,,on           
,,hogarth',s ,,marriage ,a-,,la-,,mode  
,the ,criticism on ,hogarth's           
#8,marriage a-la-,mode1' referred to in 
the     account of ,mr4 ,angerstein's   
pictures 7page #ae71 is as follows3--   
,the superiority of the pictures of     
,hogarth1 which we have seen in the late

 collection at the ,british             
,institution1 to the common prints1 is  
confined chiefly to the ,marriage       
a-la-,mode4 ,we shall attempt to        
illustrate a few of their most striking 
excellences1 more particularly with     
reference to the expression of          
character4 ,their merits are indeed so  
prominent1 and have been so often       
discussed1 that it may be thought       
difficult to point out any new beauties2
 but they contain so much truth of      
nature1 they present the objects to the 
eye under so many aspects and bearings1 
admit of so many constructions1 and are 
so pregnant with meaning1 that the      
subject is in a manner inexhaustible4   
,boccaccio1 the most refined and        
sentimental of all the novel-writers1   
has been stigmatized as a mere inventor 
of licentious tales1 because readers in 
general have only seized on those things
 in his works which were suited to their
 own taste1 and have reflected their own
 grossness back upon the writer4 ,so it 

has happened that the majority of       
critics having been most struck with the
 strong and decided expression in       
,hogarth1 the extreme delicacy and      
subtle gradations of character in his   
pictures have almost entirely escaped   
them4 ,in the first picture of the      
,marriage a-la-,mode1 the three figures 
of the young ,nobleman1 his intended    
,bride1 and her innamorato the ,lawyer1 
shew how much ,hogarth excelled in the  
power of giving soft and effeminate     
expression4 ,they have1 however1 been   
less noticed than the other figures1    
which tell a plainer story1 and convey a
 more palpable moral4 ,nothing can be   
more finely managed than the differences
 of character in these delicate         
personages4 ,the ,beau sits smiling at  
the looking-glass1 with a reflected     
simper of self-admiration1 and a        
languishing inclination of the head1    
while the rest of his body is perked up 
on his high heels1 with a certain air of
 tiptoe elevation4 ,he is the ,narcissus

 of the reign of ,george ,,ii41 whose   
powdered peruke1 ruffles1 gold lace1 and
 patches1 divide his self-love equally  
with his own person1 the true ,sir      
,plume of his day1--                    
----#8,of amber snuff-box justly vain1  
,and the nice conduct of a clouded      
cane4'  ,there is the same felicity in  
the figure and attitude of the ,bride1  
courted by the ,lawyer4 ,there is the   
utmost flexibility1 and yielding        
softness in her whole person1 a listless
 languor and tremulous suspense in the  
expression of her face4 ,it is the      
precise look and air which ,pope has    
given to his favourite ,belinda1 just at
 the moment of the ,rape of the ,lock4  
,the heightened glow1 the forward       
intelligence1 and loosened soul of love 
in the same face1 in the                
,assignation-scene before the           
masquerade1 form a fine and instructive 
contrast to the delicacy1 timidity1 and 
coy reluctance expressed in the first4  
,the ,lawyer1 in both pictures1 is much 

the same--perhaps too much so--though   
even this unmoved1 unaltered appearance 
may be designed as characteristic4 ,in  
both cases1 he has #8a person and a     
smooth dispose1 framed to make women    
false4' ,he is full of that easy        
good-humour1 and easy good opinion of   
himself1 with which the sex are         
delighted4 ,there is not a sharp angle  
in his face to obstruct his success1 or 
give a hint of doubt or difficulty4 ,his
 whole aspect is round and rosy1 lively 
and unmeaning1 happy without the least  
expense of thought1 careless1 and       
inviting2 and conveys a perfect idea of 
the uninterrupted glide and pleasing    
murmur of the soft periods that flow    
from his tongue4  ,the expression of the
 ,bride in the ,morning-scene is the    
most highly seasoned1 and at the same   
time the most vulgar in the series4 ,the
 figure1 face1 and attitude of the      
,husband are inimitable4 ,hogarth has   
with great skill contrasted the pale    
countenance of the ,husband with the    

yellow whitish colour of the marble     
chimney-piece behind him1 in such a     
manner as to preserve the fleshy tone of
 the former4 ,the airy splendour of the 
view of the inner room in this picture1 
is probably not exceeded by any of the  
productions of the ,flemish school4     
,the ,young ,girl1 in the third picture1
 who is represented as a victim of      
fashionable profligacy1 is              
unquestionably one of the artist's      
chef-d'uvres4 ,the exquisite delicacy of
 the painting is only surpassed by the  
felicity and subtlety of the conception4
 ,nothing can be more striking than the 
contrast between the extreme softness of
 her person and the hardened            
indifference of her character4 ,the     
vacant stillness1 the docility to vice1 
the premature suppression of youthful   
sensibility1 the doll-like mechanism of 
the whole figure1 which seems to have no
 other feeling but a sickly sense of    
pain1--shew the deepest insight into    
human nature1 and into the effects of   

those refinements in depravity1 by which
 it has been good-naturedly asserted1   
that #8vice loses half its evil in      
losing all its grossness4' ,the story of
 this picture is in some parts very     
obscure and enigmatical4 ,it is certain 
that the ,nobleman is not looking       
straight forward to the ,quack1 whom he 
seems to have been threatening with his 
cane2 but that his eyes are turned up   
with an ironical leer of triumph to the 
,procuress4 ,the commanding attitude and
 size of this woman1--the swelling      
circumference of her dress1 spread out  
like a turkey-cock's feathers1--the     
fierce1 ungovernable1 inveterate        
malignity of her countenance1 which     
hardly needs the comment of the         
clasp-knife to explain her purpose1 are 
all admirable in themselves1 and still  
more so1 as they are opposed to the mute
 insensibility1 the elegant negligence  
of dress1 and the childish figure of the
 girl1 who is supposed to be her        
protege4 ,as for the ,quack1 there can  

be no doubt entertained about him4 ,his 
face seems as if it were composed of    
salve1 and his features exhibit all the 
chaos and confusion of the most gross1  
ignorant1 and impudent empiricism4  ,the
 gradations of ridiculous affectation in
 the ,music-scene1 are finely imagined  
and preserved4 ,the preposterous1       
overstrained admiration of the ,lady of 
,quality2 the sentimental1 insipid1     
patient1 delight of the ,man with his   
hair in papers1 and sipping his tea2 the
 pert1 smirking1 conceited1             
half-distorted approbation of the figure
 next to him2 the transition to the     
total insensibility of the round face in
 profile1 and then to the wonder of the 
,negro-boy at the rapture of his        
mistress1--form a perfect whole4 ,the   
sanguine complexion and flame-coloured  
hair of the female ,virtuoso throw an   
additional light on the character4 ,this
 is lost in the print4 ,the continuing  
the red colour of the hair into the back
 of the chair1 has been pointed out as  

one of those instances of alliteration  
in colouring1 of which these pictures   
are everywhere full4 ,the gross1 bloated
 appearance of the ,italian ,singer is  
well relieved by the hard features of   
the instrumental ,performer behind him1 
which might be carved of wood4 ,the     
,negro-boy1 holding the chocolate1 in   
expression1 colour1 and execution1 is a 
master-piece4 ,the gay1 lively derision 
of the other ,negro-boy1 playing with   
the ,acton1 is an ingenious contrast to 
the profound amazement of the first4    
,some account has already been given of 
the two lovers in this picture4 ,it is  
curious to observe the infinite activity
 of mind which the artist displays on   
every occasion4 ,an instance occurs in  
the present picture4 ,he has so         
contrived the papers in the hair of the 
,bride1 as to make them look almost like
 a wreathe of half-blown flowers2 while 
those which he has placed on the head of
 the musical ,amateur very much resemble
 a cheveux-de-fris of horns1 which adorn

 and fortify the lacklustre expression  
and mild resignation of the face        
beneath4  ,the ,night-scene is inferior 
to the rest of the series4 ,the attitude
 of the ,husband1 who is just killed1 is
 one in which it would be impossible for
 him to stand1 or even to fall4 ,it     
resembles the loose pasteboard figures  
they make for children4 ,the characters 
in the last picture1 in which the ,wife 
dies1 are all masterly4 ,we would       
particularly refer to the captious1     
petulant self-sufficiency of the        
,apothecary1 whose face and figure are  
constructed on exact physiognomical     
principles1 and to the fine example of  
passive obedience and non-resistance in 
the ,servant1 whom he is taking to task1
 and whose coat of green and yellow     
livery is as long and melancholy as his 
face4 ,the disconsolate look1 the       
haggard eyes1 the open mouth1 the comb  
sticking in the hair1 the broken1 gapped
 teeth1 which1 as it were1 hitch in an  
answer--every thing about him denotes   

the utmost perplexity and dismay4 ,the  
harmony and gradations of colour in this
 picture are uniformly preserved with   
the greatest nicety1 and are well worthy
 the attention of the artist4  ,it has  
been observed1 that ,hogarth's pictures 
are exceedingly unlike any other        
representations of the same kind of     
subjects--that they form a class1 and   
have a character1 peculiar to           
themselves4 ,it may be worth while to   
consider in what this general           
distinction consists4  ,in the first    
place they are1 in the strictest sense1 
historical pictures2 and if what        
,fielding says be true1 that his novel  
of ,tom ,jones ought to be regarded as  
an epic prose-poem1 because it contained
 a regular developement of fable1       
manners1 character1 and passion1 the    
compositions of ,hogarth will1 in like  
manner be found to have a higher claim  
to the title of ,epic ,pictures1 than   
many which have of late arrogated that  
denomination to themselves4 ,when we say

 that ,hogarth treated his subjects     
historically1 we mean that his works    
represent the manners and humours of    
mankind in action1 and their characters 
by varying expression4 ,every thing in  
his pictures has life and motion in it4 
,not only does the business of the scene
 never stand still1 but every feature   
and muscle is put into full play2 the   
exact feeling of the moment is brought  
out1 and carried to its utmost height1  
and then instantly seized and stamped on
 the canvas forever4 ,the expression is 
always taken en passant1 in a state of  
progress or change1 and1 as it were1 at 
the salient point4 ,besides the         
excellence of each individual face1 the 
reflection of the expression from face  
to face1 the contrast and struggle of   
particular motives and feelings in the  
different actors in the scene1 as of    
anger1 contempt1 laughter1 compassion1  
are conveyed in the happiest and most   
lively manner4 ,his figures are not like
 the background on which they are       

painted3 even the pictures on the wall  
have a peculiar look of their           
own4--,again1 with the rapidity1        
variety1 and scope of history1          
,hogarth's heads have all the reality   
and correctness of portraits4 ,he gives 
the extremes of character and           
expression1 but he gives them with      
perfect truth and accuracy4 ,this is in 
fact what distinguishes his compositions
 from all others of the same kind1 that 
they are equally remote from caricature 
and from mere still-life4 ,it of course 
happens in subjects from common life1   
that the painter can procure real       
models1 and he can get them to sit as   
long as he pleases4 ,hence1 in general1 
those attitudes and expressions have    
been chosen which could be assumed the  
longest2 and in imitating which1 the    
artist1 by taking pains and time1 might 
produce almost as complete a fac-simile 
as he could of a flower or a flower-pot1
 of a damask curtain1 or a china vase4  
,the copy was as perfect and as         

uninteresting in the one case as in the 
other4 ,on the contrary1 subjects of    
drollery and ridicule affording frequent
 examples of strange deformity and      
peculiarity of features1 these have been
 eagerly seized by another class of     
artists1 who1 without subjecting        
themselves to the laborious drudgery of 
the ,dutch school and their imitators1  
have produced our popular caricatures1  
by rudely copying or exaggerating the   
casual irregularities of the human      
countenance4 ,hogarth has equally       
avoided the faults of both these        
styles--the insipid tameness of the one1
 and the gross vulgarity of the         
other--so as to give to the productions 
of his pencil equal solidity and effect3
 for his faces go to the very verge of  
caricature1 and yet never 7we believe in
 any single instance7 go beyond it2 they
 take the very widest latitude1 and yet 
we always see the links which bind them 
to nature3 they bear all the marks1 and 
carry all the conviction of reality with

 them1 as if we had seen the actual     
faces for the first time1 from the      
precision1 consistency1 and good sense1 
with which the whole and every part is  
made out4 ,they exhibit the most        
uncommon features with the most uncommon
 expressions1 but which are yet as      
familiar and intelligible as possible2  
because1 with all the boldness1 they    
have all the truth of nature4 ,hogarth  
has left behind him as many of these    
memorable faces1 in their memorable     
moments1 as1 perhaps1 most of us        
remember in the course of our lives2 and
 has thus doubled the quantity of our   
observation4  ,we have1 in the present  
paper1 attempted to point out the fund  
of observation1 physical and moral1     
contained in one set of these pictures1 
the ,marriage a-la-,mode4 ,the rest     
would furnish as many topics to descant 
upon1 were the patience of the reader as
 inexhaustible as the painter's         
invention4 ,but as this is not the case1
 we shall content ourselves with barely 

referring to some of those figures in   
the other pictures1 which appear the    
most striking2 and which we see1 not    
only while we are looking at them1 but  
which we have before us at all other    
times4--,for instance3 who1 having seen1
 can easily forget that exquisite       
frost-piece of religion and morality1   
the antiquated prude1 in the picture of 
,morning8 or that striking commentary on
 the good old times1 the little wretched
 appendage of a foot-boy1 who crawls1   
half famished and half frozen1 behind   
her8 ,the ,french man and woman1 in the 
,noon1 are the perfection of flighty    
affectation and studied grimace2 the    
amiable fraternization of the two old   
women saluting each other1 is not enough
 to be admired2 and in the little       
master1 in the same national group1 we  
see the early promise and               
personification of that eternal         
principle of wondrous self-complacency1 
proof against all circumstances1 which  
makes the ,french the only people who   

are vain1 even of being cuckolded and   
being conquered6 ,or shall we prefer to 
this1 the outrageous distress and       
unmitigated terrors of the boy who has  
dropped his dish of meat1 and who seems 
red all over with shame and vexation1   
and bursting with the noise he makes8   
,or what can be better than the good    
housewifery of the girl underneath1 who 
is devouring the lucky fragments8 ,or   
than the plump1 ripe1 florid1 luscious  
look of the servant-wench1 embraced by a
 greasy rascal of an ,othello1 with her 
pye-dish tottering like her virtue1 and 
with the most precious part of its      
contents running over8 ,just--no1 not   
quite--as good1 is the joke of the woman
 over head1 who1 having quarrelled with 
her husband1 is throwing their ,sunday's
 dinner out of the window1 to complete  
this chapter of accidents of baked      
dishes4 ,the husband1 in the ,evening   
scene1 is certainly as meek as any      
recorded in history2 but we cannot say  
that we admire this picture1 or the     

,night scene after it4 ,but then in the 
,taste in ,high ,life1 there is that    
inimitable pair1 differing only in sex1 
congratulating and delighting one       
another by #8all the mutually reflected 
charities' of folly and affectation2    
with the young lady1 coloured like a    
rose1 dandling her little1 black1       
pug-faced1 white-teethed1 chuckling     
favourite2 and with the portrait of     
,mons4 ,des ,noyers1 in the background1 
dancing in a grand ballet1 surrounded by
 butterflies4 ,and again1 in ,the       
,election ,dinner1 is the immortal      
cobbler1 surrounded by his peers1 who   
#8frequent and full1'--                 
#8,in loud recess and brawling conclave 
sit3'--  the ,jew1 in the second        
picture1 a very ,jew in                 
grain--innumerable fine sketches of     
heads in the ,polling for ,votes1 of    
which the nobleman1 overlooking the     
caricaturist1 is the best2--and then the
 irresistible1 tumultuous display of    
broad humour in the ,chairing the       

,member1 which is1 perhaps1 of all      
,hogarth's pictures1 the most full of   
laughable incidents and situations4 ,the
 yellow1 rusty-faced thresher1 with his 
swinging flail1 breaking the head of one
 of the chairmen2 and his redoubted     
antagonist1 the sailor1 with his oak    
stick1 and stumping wooden leg1 a       
supplemental cudgel--the persevering    
ecstasy of the hobbling blind fiddler1  
who1 in the fray1 appears to have been  
trod upon by the artificial excrescence 
of the honest tar--,monsieur1 the       
,monkey1 with piteous aspect1           
speculating the impending disaster of   
the triumphant candidate2 and his       
brother ,bruin1 appropriating the       
paunch--the precipitous flight of the   
pigs1 souse over head into the          
water--the fine lady fainting1 with     
vermilion lips--and the two chimney     
sweepers1 satirical young rogues6 ,we   
had almost forgot the politician1 who is
 burning a hole through his hat with a  
candle1 in reading a newspaper2 and the 

chickens1 in ,the ,march to ,finchley1  
wandering in search of their lost dam1  
who is found in the pocket of the       
serjeant4 ,of the pictures in ,the      
,rake's ,progress we shall not here say 
any thing1 because we think them1 on the
 whole1 inferior to the prints2 and     
because they have already been          
criticised by a writer1 to whom we could
 add nothing1 in a paper which ought to 
be read by every lover of ,hogarth and  
of ,english genius4#aa  -----  ,footnote
 #a3    ,we like this picture of a      
,concert the best of the three by       
,titian in   the same room4 ,the other  
two are a ,ganymede1 and a ,venus and   
,adonis2   the last does not appear to  
us from the hand of ,titian4  ,footnote 
#b3    ,the ,reader1 if he pleases1 may 
turn to an ,essay on this subject in the
   ,round ,table4  ,footnote #c3    ,two
 thirds of the principal pictures in the
 ,orleans ,collection are at   present  
at ,cleveland-,house1 one third         
purchased by the ,marquis of            

,stafford1 and another third left by the
 ,duke of ,bridgewater1 another   of the
 purchasers ,mr4 ,brian had the         
remaining third4  ,footnote #d3         
#8,aut ,erasmus aut ,diabolus4' ,sir    
,thomas ,more's exclamation on meeting  
with the philosopher of ,rotterdam4     
,footnote #e3    ,the late ,mr4 ,curran 
described ,john ,kemble's eye in these  
words4  ,footnote #f3    ,it is said in 
the catalogue to be painted on          
touch-stone4  ,footnote #g3    ,written 
in ,february1 #ahbc4  ,footnote #h3     
,we heard it well said the other day1   
that #8,rubens's pictures were the      
palette of ,titian4'  ,footnote #i3     
,this is not absolutely true4 ,mr4      
,banks the younger1 and another young   
gentleman1 formed an exception to this  
rule1 and contrived to get into   the   
,abbey-grounds1 in spite of warning1    
just as the recluse proprietor          
happened to be passing by the spot4     
,instead1 however1 of manifesting   any 
displeasure1 he gave them a most polite 

reception1 shewed them   whatever they  
expressed a wish to see1 asked them to  
dinner1 and after   passing the day in  
the greatest conviviality1 dismissed    
them by   saying1 #8,that they might get
 out as they got in4' ,this was         
certainly a   good jest4 ,our youthful  
adventurers on forbidden ground1 in the 
midst   of their festive security1 might
 have expected some such shrewd turn    
from the antithetical genius of the     
author of ,vathek1 who makes his   hero1
 in a paroxysm of impatience1 call out  
for #8the ,koran and   sugar6'          
,footnote #aj3    ,from the ,new        
,monthly ,magazine4  ,footnote #aa3     
,see an ,essay on the ,genius of        
,hogarth1 by ,c4 ,lamb4                 
,,notes ,,of ,a ,,journey ,,through     
,,france ,,and ,,italy                  
,,bibliographical ,,note   ,notes of a  
,journey through ,france and ,italy1 ,by
 ,w4 ,hazlitt1 was published in #ahbf1  
in an #hvo4 volume 7#i  #e inches74     
,printed for ,hunt and ,clarke1         

,tavistock-,street1 ,covent-,garden4    
,the printer's name is given behind the 
title-page as #8,william ,clowes1       
,northumberland-court1' and the         
following lines from ,cymbeline 7,act   
,,iii4 #d47 appear underneath the       
author's name on the title-page3--      
#8,i' the world's volume                
,our ,britain seems as of it1 but not in
 it2              ,in a great pool1 a   
swan's nest4 ,prithee think             
,there's livers out of ,britain4'  ,as  
stated in the ,,advertisement1 the      
,notes were reprinted from the ,morning 
,chronicle1 to which they had been      
contributed in #ahbd and #ahbe4 ,they   
are now reprinted for the first time    
since the publication of the volume of  
#ahbf1 and as they appeared in that     
volume4 ,a few passages which appeared  
in the papers as they came out in the   
,morning ,chronicle1 and were omitted   
when ,hazlitt collected the letters in  
book-form1 will be found among the notes
 at the end of the volume4              

,,advertisement   ,the following ,notes 
of a ,journey through ,france and ,italy
 are reprinted from the columns of the  
,morning ,chronicle4 ,the favourable    
reception they met with there suggested 
the idea of the present work4 ,my object
 has been to describe what ,i saw or    
remarked myself2 or to give the reader  
some notion of what he might expect to  
find in travelling the same road4 ,there
 is little of history or antiquities or 
statistics2 nor do ,i regret the want of
 them1 as it may be abundantly supplied 
from other sources4 ,the only thing ,i  
could have wished to expatiate upon more
 at large is the manners of the country3
 but to do justice to this1 a greater   
length of time and a more intimate      
acquaintance with society and the       
language would be necessary4 ,perhaps1  
at some future opportunity1 this defect 
may be remedied4                        
,,contents                              
,,page   ,,chapter ,i4--,rules for      
travelling abroad4 ,brighton4 ,crossing 

the       #hi    ,channel4 ,dieppe4     
,remarks on the ,french common ,people  
,,chapter ,,ii4--,normandy4 ,appearance 
of the ,country4 ,rouen4 ,the           
#id    ,cathedral there4 ,the sense of  
,smell   ,,chapter ,,iii4--,the ,road   
from ,rouen to ,paris4 ,a ,mistake4     
,evreux4 ,a     #ajj    young           
,frenchman4 ,a trait of national        
,politeness4 ,louviers4 ,the            
,diligence1 and the ,company in it4     
,lord ,byron and ,mr4 ,moore   ,,chapter
 ,,iv4--,the ,louvre                    
#ajf   ,,chapter ,v4--,gravity of the   
,french4 ,their ,behaviour at the       
,theatre4   #aac    ,account of going to
 a ,play4 ,minute attention paid to the 
,arts    and ,sciences in ,france4 ,sir 
,t4 ,lawrence4 ,horace ,vernet          
,,chapter ,,vi4--,dialogue on the       
,exhibition of ,modern ,french ,pictures
    #abb   ,,chapter ,,vii4--,the       
,luxembourg ,gallery                    
#abi   ,,chapter ,,viii4--,national     
,antipathies4 ,cemetery of ,pre la      

,chaise    #ach   ,,chapter             
,,ix4--,mademoiselle ,mars4 ,the ,thatre
 ,franais4 ,molire's    #adg            
,misanthrope and ,tartuffe4 ,admirable  
manner of casting a ,play    in ,paris4 
,french ,actors1 ,le ,peintre1 ,odry1   
and ,potier4 ,talma and    ,mademoiselle
 ,georges   ,,chapter ,x4--,description 
of ,paris4 ,the ,garden of the          
,tuileries4 ,the   #aee    ,champ de    
,mars4 ,the ,jardin des ,plantes4       
,reflections   ,,chapter ,,xi4--,french 
,sculpture4 ,note on the ,elgin ,marbles
             #afb   ,,chapter           
,,xii4--,the ,french ,opera4 ,dido and  
neas4 ,madame ,le ,gallois    #afi    in
 the ,ballet4 ,italian ,opera or ,salle 
,louvois4 ,mombelli and    ,pellegrini  
in the ,gazza ,ladra4 ,allusion to      
,brunet   ,,chapter ,,xiii4--,leave     
,paris for ,lyons4 ,adventures on the   
,road4        #age    ,fontainbleau4    
,montargis4 ,girl at the ,inn there4 ,a 
,french    ,diligence4 ,moulins4        
,palisseau4 ,the ,bourbonnois4 ,descent 

into    ,tarare4 ,meeting with a young  
,englishman there4 ,arrival at ,lyons4  
,manners of ,french ,servants4 ,french  
,translation of ,tom ,jones4 ,m4        
,martine's ,death of ,socrates          
,,chapter ,,xiv4--,set out for ,turin by
 ,way of ,mont ,cenis4 ,the ,cheats of  
#ahc    ,scapin4 ,the ,diligence4 ,pont 
,beau ,voisin1 the frontier ,town of    
the ,king of ,sardinia's ,dominions4    
,have to pass the ,custom ,house4    ,my
 ,box of ,books leaded4 ,a ,note which  
is little to the ,purpose4    ,first    
,view of the ,alps4 ,the ,grand         
,chartreuse4 ,cavern of ,la    ,grotte4 
,chambery4 ,st4 ,michelle4              
,lans-le-,bourg4 ,our ,spanish          
fellow-traveller4 ,passage of ,mount    
,cenis4 ,arrival at ,susa   ,,chapter   
,,xv4--,turin4 ,its magnificent         
,situation4 ,the ,effect of first   #aie
    feeling one's-self in ,italy4       
,theatre4 ,capital ,pantomime-acting4   
,passports4 ,get seats in a ,voiture to 
,florence1 with two ,english    ,ladies4

 ,mode of travelling4 ,italian          
,peasants4 ,parma4 ,windows    lined    
with ,faces4 ,maria-,louisa4 ,character 
of ,correggio4 ,frescoes    by the same 
in the ,cupola of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,the    
,farnese ,theatre4    ,bologna4 ,academy
 of ,painting4 ,towns in ,italy         
,,chapter ,,xvi4--,road to ,florence4   
,the ,apennines4 ,covigliaijo4 ,la      
#bjg    ,maschere4 ,approach to and     
,description of ,florence4 ,carnival4   
,lent4 ,the ,popish ,calendar4 ,fesole4 
,cold in ,italy   ,,chapter             
,,xvii4--,the public ,gallery4 ,antique 
,busts4 ,the ,venus4         #bai       
,raphael's ,fornarina4 ,the ,perseus of 
,benvenuto ,cellini4 ,john of           
,bologna's ,rape of the ,sabines4 ,the  
,palace ,pitti   ,,chapter              
,,xviii4--,sienna4 ,radicofani4         
,aquapendente4 ,description of     #bbg 
the ,inn there4 ,san ,lorenzo4          
,monte-,fiascone4 ,lake of ,bolsena4    
,desolate ,appearance of the ,country   
near ,rome4 ,first ,view of ,st4        

,peter's from ,baccano   ,,chapter      
,,xix4--,rome4 ,the ,vatican4 ,the      
,capella ,sistina4 ,holy ,week4     #bcb
    ,the ,coliseum4 ,the ,temple of     
,vesta4 ,picture ,galleries--the        
,ruspigliosi1 ,doria1 ,borghese1        
,corsini1 and ,little ,farnese4 ,guido  
,,chapter ,,xx4--,character of the      
,english                                
#bda   ,,chapter ,,xxi4--,return to     
,florence4 ,italian ,banditti4 ,terni4  
,tivoli4   #bec    ,spoleto4 ,church and
 ,pictures at ,assizi4 ,perugia4 ,an    
,irish    ,priest4 ,cortona4 ,arrezo4   
,incisa   ,,chapter ,,xxii4--,journey to
 ,venice4 ,plain of ,lombardy4 ,a       
country ,inn4  #bfc    ,ferrara4        
,rovigo4 ,padua4 ,description of ,venice
   ,,chapter ,,xxiii4--,palaces at      
,venice--the ,grimani1 ,barberigo1 and  
#bfh    ,manfrini ,collections4 ,paul   
,veronese4 ,titian's ,st4 ,peter        
,martyr4    ,the ,assumption and        
,martyrdom of ,st4 ,lawrence4 ,st4      
,mark's ,place   ,,chapter              

,,xxiv4--,journey to ,milan4 ,verona4   
,the ,tomb of ,juliet4 ,the     #bge    
,amphitheatre4 ,the ,fortress of        
,peschiera4 ,lake of ,garda4 ,milan4    
,the ,inhabitants4 ,the ,duomo4 ,theatre
 of the ,gran ,scala4 ,isola    ,bella4 
,lago ,maggiore4 ,baveno   ,,chapter    
,,xxv4--,the passage over the ,simplon4 
,inn at ,brigg4 ,valley of  #bha    the 
,simplon4 ,sion4 ,bex4 ,vevey           
,,chapter ,,xxvi4--,excursion to        
,chamouni4 ,mont-,blanc4 ,geneva4       
,lausanne   #bhh   ,,chapter            
,,xxvii4--,return down the ,rhine       
through ,holland4 ,concluding    #bie   
remarks                                 
,,notes ,,of ,a ,,journey               
,,through ,,france ,,and ,,italy        
,,chapter ,i   ,the rule for travelling 
abroad is to take our common sense with 
us1 and leave our prejudices behind us4 
,the object of travelling is to see and 
learn2 but such is our impatience of    
ignorance1 or the jealousy of our       
self-love1 that we generally set up a   

certain preconception beforehand 7in    
self-defence1 or as a barrier against   
the lessons of experience17 and are     
surprised at or quarrel with all that   
does not conform to it4 ,let us think   
what we please of what we really find1  
but prejudge nothing4 ,the ,english1 in 
particular1 carry out their own defects 
as a standard for general imitation2 and
 think the virtues of others 7that are  
not their vices7 good for nothing4 ,thus
 they find fault with the gaiety of the 
,french as impertinence1 with their     
politeness as grimace4 ,this repulsive  
system of carping and contradiction can 
extract neither use nor meaning from any
 thing1 and only tends to make those who
 give way to it uncomfortable and       
ridiculous4 ,on the contrary1 we should 
be as seldom shocked or annoyed as      
possible1 7it is our vanity or ignorance
 that is mortified much oftener than our
 reason67 and contrive to see the       
favourable side of things4 ,this will   
turn both to profit and pleasure4 ,the  

intellectual1 like the physical1 is best
 kept up by an exchange of commodities1 
instead of an ill-natured and idle      
search after grievances4 ,the first     
thing an ,englishman does on going      
abroad is to find fault with what is    
,french1 because it is not ,english4 ,if
 he is determined to confine all        
excellence to his own country1 he had   
better stay at home4  ,on arriving at   
,brighton 7in the full season17 a lad   
offered to conduct us to an inn4 #8,did 
he think there was room8' ,he was sure  
of it4 #8,did he belong to the inn8'    
,no1 he was from ,london4 ,in fact1 he  
was a young gentleman from town1 who had
 been stopping some time at the         
,white-,horse ,hotel1 and who wished to 
employ his spare time 7when he was not  
riding out on a blood-horse7 in serving 
the house1 and relieving the            
perplexities of his fellow-travellers4  
,no one but a ,londoner would volunteer 
his assistance in this way4 ,amiable    
land of ,cockayne1 happy in itself1 and 

in making others happy6 ,blest          
exuberance of self-satisfaction1 that   
overflows upon others6 ,delightful      
impertinence1 that is forward to oblige 
them6  ,there is something in being near
 the sea1 like the confines of eternity4
 ,it is a new element1 a pure           
abstraction4 ,the mind loves to hover on
 that which is endless1 and forever the 
same4 ,people wonder at a steam-boat1   
the invention of man1 managed by man1   
that makes its liquid path like an iron 
railway through the sea--,i wonder at   
the sea itself1 that vast ,leviathan1   
rolled round the earth1 smiling in its  
sleep1 waked into fury1 fathomless1     
boundless1 a huge world of              
water-drops--,whence is it1 whither goes
 it1 is it of eternity or of nothing8   
,strange1 ponderous riddle1 that we can 
neither penetrate nor grasp in our      
comprehension1 ebbing and flowing like  
human life1 and swallowing it up in thy 
remorseless womb1--what art thou8 ,what 
is there in common between thy life and 

ours1 who gaze at thee8 ,blind1 deaf and
 old1 thou seest not1 hearest not1      
understandest not2 neither do we        
understand1 who behold and listen to    
thee6 ,great as thou art1 unconscious of
 thy greatness1 unwieldy1 enormous1     
preposterous twin-birth of matter1 rest 
in thy dark1 unfathomed cave of mystery1
 mocking human pride and weakness4      
,still is it given to the mind of man to
 wonder at thee1 to confess its         
ignorance1 and to stand in awe of thy   
stupendous might and majesty1 and of its
 own being1 that can question thine6    
,but a truce with reflections4  ,the    
,pavilion at ,brighton is like a        
collection of stone pumpkins and        
pepper-boxes4 ,it seems as if the genius
 of architecture had at once the dropsy 
and the megrims4 ,any thing more        
fantastical1 with a greater dearth of   
invention1 was never seen4 ,the ,king's 
stud 7if they were horses of taste7     
would petition against so irrational a  
lodging4  ,brighton stands facing the   

sea1 on the bare cliffs1 with glazed    
windows to reflect the glaring sun1 and 
black pitchy bricks shining like the    
scales of fishes4 ,the town is however  
gay with the influx of ,london          
visitors--happy as the conscious abode  
of its sovereign6 ,every thing here     
appears in motion--coming or going4     
,people at a watering-place may be      
compared to the flies of a summer2 or to
 fashionable dresses1 or suits of       
clothes walking about the streets4 ,the 
only idea you gain is1 of finery and    
motion4 ,the road between ,london and   
,brighton presents some very charming   
scenery2 ,reigate is a prettier ,english
 country-town than is to be found       
anywhere--out of ,england6 ,as we       
entered ,brighton in the evening1 a     
,frenchman was playing and singing to a 
guitar4 ,it was a relief to the         
conversation in the coach1 which had    
been chiefly supported in a nasal tone  
by a disciple of ,mrs4 ,fry and         
amanuensis of philanthropy in general4  

,as we heard the lively musician warble1
 we forgot the land of ,sunday-schools  
and spinning-jennies4 ,the genius of the
 ,south had come out to meet us4  ,we   
left ,brighton in the steam-packet1 and 
soon saw the shores of ,albion recede   
from us4 ,out of sight1 out of mind4    
,how poor a geographer is the human     
mind6 ,how small a space does the       
imagination take in at once6 ,in        
travelling1 our ideas change like the   
scenes of a pantomime1 displacing each  
other as completely and rapidly4 ,long  
before we touched on ,french ground1 the
 ,english coast was lost in distance1   
and nothing remained of it but a dim    
mist2 it hardly seemed #8in a great pool
 a swan's nest4' ,so shall its glory    
vanish like a vapour1 its liberty like a
 dream6  ,we had a fine passage in the  
steam-boat 7,sept4 #a1 #ahbd74 ,not a   
cloud1 scarce a breath of air2 a moon1  
and then star-light1 till the dawn1 with
 rosy fingers1 ushered us into ,dieppe4 
,our fellow-passengers were pleasant and

 unobtrusive1 an ,english party of the  
better sort3 a ,member of ,parliament1  
delighted to escape from #8late hours   
and bad company2' an ,english ,general1 
proud of his bad ,french2 a ,captain in 
the ,navy1 glad to enter a ,french      
harbour peaceably2 a ,country ,squire1  
extending his inquiries beyond his      
paternal acres2 the younger sons of     
wealthy citizens1 refined through the   
strainers of a ,university-education and
 finishing off with foreign travel2 a   
young ,lawyer1 quoting ,peregrine       
,pickle1 and divided between his last   
circuit and projected tour4 ,there was  
also a young ,dutchman1 looking mild    
through his mustachios1 and a           
new-married couple 7a ,french ,jew and  
,jewess7 who grew uxorious from the     
effects of sea-sickness1 and took refuge
 from the qualms of the disorder in     
paroxysms of tenderness4 ,we had some   
difficulty in getting into the harbour1 
and had to wait till morning for the    
tide4 ,i grew very tired1 and laid the  

blame on the time lost in getting some  
restive horses on board1 but found that 
if we had set out two hours sooner1 we  
should only have had to wait two hours  
longer4 ,the doctrine of ,optimism is a 
very good and often a very true one in  
travelling4 ,in advancing up the steps  
to give the officers our passport1 ,i   
was prevented by a young man and woman1 
who said they were before me1 and on    
making a second attempt1 an elderly     
gentleman and lady set up the same      
claim1 because they stood behind me4 ,it
 seemed that a servant was waiting with 
passports for four4 ,persons in a       
certain class of life are so full of    
their own business and importance1 that 
they imagine every one else must be     
aware of it--,i hope this is the last   
specimen ,i shall for some time meet    
with of city-manners4 ,after a formal   
custom-house search1 we procured        
admittance at ,pratt's ,hotel1 where    
they said they had reserved a bed for a 
,lady4 ,france is a country where they  

give honneur aux ,dames4 ,the window    
looked out on the bridge and on the     
river1 which reflected the shipping and 
the houses2 and we should have thought  
ourselves luckily off1 but that the bed1
 which occupied a niche in the          
sitting-room1 had that kind of odour    
which could not be mistaken for otto of 
roses4  ,,dieppe4--,this town presents a
 very agreeable and romantic appearance 
to strangers4 ,it is cut up into a      
number of distinct divisions by canals1 
drawbridges1 and bastions1 as if to     
intercept the progress of an enemy4 ,the
 best houses1 too1 are shut up in close 
courts and high walls on the same       
principle1 that is1 to stand a further  
siege in the good old times4 ,there are 
rows of lime-trees on the quay1 and some
 of the narrow streets running from it  
look like wells4 ,this town is a picture
 to look at2 it is a pity that it is not
 a nosegay1 and that the passenger who  
ventures to explore its nooks and alleys
 is driven back again by #8a compound of

 villainous smells1' which seem to grow 
out of the ground4 ,in walking the      
streets1 one must take one's nose with  
one1 and that sense is apt to be        
offended in ,france as well as in       
,scotland4 ,is it hence called in       
,french the organ of sense8 ,the houses 
and the dresses are equally             
old-fashioned4 ,in ,france one lives in 
the imagination of the past2 in ,england
 every thing is new and on an improved  
plan4 ,such is the progress of          
mechanical invention6 ,in ,dieppe there 
is one huge1 misshapen1 but             
venerable-looking ,gothic ,church 7a    
theological fixture17 instead of twenty 
new-fangled erections1 ,egyptian1 ,greek
 or ,coptic4 ,the head-dresses of the   
women are much the same as those which  
the ,spectator laughed out of           
countenance a hundred years ago in      
,england1 with high plaited crowns1 and 
lappets hanging down over the shoulders4
 ,the shape and colours of the bodice   
and petticoat are what we see in ,dutch 

pictures2 the faces of the common people
 we are familiarized with in ,mieris and
 ,jan ,steen4 ,they are full and fair   
like the ,germans1 and have not the     
minced and peaked character we attribute
 to the ,french4 ,they are not handsome1
 but good-natured1 expressive1 placid4  
,they retain the look of peasants more  
than the town's-people with us1 whether 
from living more in the open air1 or    
from greater health and temperance1 ,i  
cannot say4 ,what ,i like in their      
expression 7so far7 is not the vivacity1
 but the goodness1 the simplicity1 the  
thoughtful resignation4 ,the ,french are
 full of gesticulation when they speak2 
they have at other times an equal       
appearance of repose and content4 ,you  
see the figure of a girl sitting in the 
sun1 so still that her dress seems like 
streaks of red and black chalk against  
the wall2 a soldier reading2 a group of 
old women 7with skins as tough1 yellow1 
and wrinkled as those of a tortoise7    
chatting in a corner and laughing till  

their sides are ready to split2 or a    
string of children tugging a            
fishing-boat out of the harbour as      
evening goes down1 and making the air   
ring with their songs and shouts of     
merriment 7a sight to make ,mr4 ,malthus
 shudder674 ,life here glows1 or spins  
carelessly round on its soft axle4 ,the 
same animal spirits that supply a fund  
of cheerful thoughts1 break out into all
 the extravagance of mirth and social   
glee4 ,the air is a cordial to them1 and
 they drink drams of sunshine4 ,my      
particular liking to the ,french is1    
however1 confined to their natural and  
unsophisticated character4 ,the good    
spirits #8with which they are clothed   
and fed1' and which eke out the         
deficiencies of fortune or good         
government1 are perhaps too much for    
them1 when joined with external         
advantages1 or artificial pretensions4  
,their vivacity becomes insolence in    
office2 their success1 presumption2     
their gentility1 affectation and        

grimace4 ,but the national physiognomy  
7taken at large7 is the reflection of   
good temper and humanity4 ,one thing is 
evident1 and decisive in their          
favour--they do not insult or point at  
strangers1 but smile on them            
good-humouredly1 and answer them        
civilly4           #8,gay1 sprightly    
land of mirth and social ease1          
,pleas'd with thyself1 whom all the     
world can please6'  ,nothing shews the  
contented soul within1 so much as our   
not seeking for amusement in the        
mortifications of others3 we only envy  
their advantages1 or sneer at their     
defects1 when we are conscious of       
wanting something ourselves4 ,the       
customs and employments of the people   
here have a more primitive and          
picturesque appearance than in ,england4
 ,is it that with us every thing is made
 domestic and commodious1 instead of    
being practised in the open air1 and    
subject to the casualties of the        
elements8 ,for instance1 you see the    

women washing clothes in the river1 with
 their red petticoats and bare feet1    
instead of standing over a washing-tub4 
,human life with us is framed and set in
 comforts3 but it wants the vivid       
colouring1 the glowing expression that  
we meet elsewhere4 ,after all1 is not   
the romantic effect produced partly     
owing to the novelty of the scene2 or do
 we not attribute to a superiority in   
others what is merely a greater         
liveliness of impression in ourselves1  
arising from curiosity and contrast8 ,if
 this were all1 foreigners ought to be  
as much delighted with us1 but they are 
not4 ,a man and woman came and sung     
#8,god save the ,king1' before the      
windows of the ,hotel1 as if the ,french
 had so much loyalty at present that    
they can spare us some of it4 ,what an  
opinion must they have formed of the    
absurd nationality of the ,english1 to  
suppose that we can expect them to feel 
this sort of mock-sentiment towards our 
,king6 ,what ,english ballad-singer     

would dream of flattering the ,french   
visitors by a song in praise of ,louis  
le ,desir before a ,brighton or a ,dover
 ,hotel8  ,as the door opened just now1 
,i saw the lad or garon1 who waits on   
us1 going up stairs with a              
looking-glass1 and admiring himself in  
it4 ,if he is pleased with himself1 he  
is no less satisfied with us1 and with  
every thing else4                       
,,chapter ,,ii   ,the road from ,dieppe 
to ,rouen is highly interesting4 ,you at
 first ascend a straight steep hill1    
which commands a view of the town and   
harbour behind you1 with villas on each 
side1 something between modern cottages 
and antique castles2 and afterwards1    
from the top of the hill1 the prospect  
spreads out over endless plains1 richly 
cultivated4 ,it has been conjectured    
that the ,english borrowed their        
implements and modes of husbandry from  
their ,norman ,conquerors2 the          
resemblance is1 indeed1 complete to a   
deception4 ,you might suppose one side  

of the channel was transported to the   
other1 from the general aspect of the   
country1 from the neatness of the       
orchard-plots1 the gardens1 and         
farm-yards4 ,every thing has a look of  
the greatest industry and plenty4 ,there
 is a scanty proportion of common       
pasturage2 but rich fields of clover1   
oats1 barley1 and vetches1 with         
luxuriant crops ready to cut1 are       
presented to the eye in uninterrupted   
succession2 there are no wastes1 no     
barren1 thankless enclosures2 every foot
 of ground seems to be cultivated with  
the utmost success4 ,it is in vain after
 this to talk of ,english agriculture1  
as if no such thing existed anywhere    
else4 ,agriculture can do no more than  
make provision that every part of the   
soil is carefully tilled1 and raise the 
finest crops from it4 ,the only         
distinctive feature is1 that there are  
here no hedges along the road-side1     
their place being supplied by rows of   
apple-trees or groves of elm and poplar1

 which stretch out before you in        
lengthened vistas1 as far as the eye can
 reach4 ,we like this1 whatever ,mr4    
,mac-,adam may object2 and moreover1 the
 roads here are as good as his4 ,to be  
sure1 they are much broader1 and admit  
of this collateral improvement4 ,shady  
plantations open their arms to meet you1
 closing in a point1 or terminated by a 
turn in the road2 and then you enter    
upon another long hospitable avenue1    
#8,bidding the lovely scenes at distance
 hail2'  the smiling landscape waves on 
either side to a considerable extent2   
you pass a shepherd tending his flock1  
or a number of peasants returning from  
market in a light long waggon1 like a   
hen-coop2 the bells of the horses       
jingle1 the postilion cracks his whip1  
or speaks to them with a friendly voice1
 and the ,diligence rolls on1 at the    
rate of six miles an hour towards       
,paris6--,travelling is much cheaper in 
,france than in ,england4 ,the distance 
from ,dieppe to ,rouen is thirty-six    

miles1 and we only paid eight francs1   
that is1 six shillings and eight pence  
a-piece1 with two francs more to the    
guide and postilion1 which is not       
fourpence a mile1 including all         
expenses4 ,on the other hand1 you have  
not the advantage of taking an outside  
place at half-price1 as a very trifling 
difference is made in this respect4     
,the ,diligence itself cuts a very      
awkward figure1 compared with our       
stage-coaches4 ,there is much the same  
difference as between a barge and a     
pleasure-boat2 but then it is roomy and 
airy1 and remarkably easy in its motion4
 ,in the common mechanic arts the       
,french attend to the essential only2 we
 are so fond of elegance and            
compactness1 that we sacrifice ease to  
show and finish4 ,the harness of the    
horses is made of ropes or rusty        
leather1 and it is wonderful how they   
get along so well as they do1 three1 or 
sometimes four a-breast4 ,the apples of 
the orchards hang over the road-side1   

which speaks well for the honesty of the
 inhabitants1 or the plenty of the      
country4 ,the women appear to work a    
good deal out of doors4 ,some of the    
older ones have strangely distorted     
visages1 and those horrid ,albert-,durer
 chins and noses1 that have been coming 
together for half a century4 ,the       
younger ones are handsome1              
healthy-looking1 animated2 a better sort
 of ,english country girls4 ,the        
character of ,french coquetry prevails  
even here1 and you see a young          
peasant-girl1 broiling in the sun1 with 
a blue paper cap on her head1 that      
glitters like the smoothest satin1 and  
that answers the purpose of finery just 
as well4 ,i observed that one man       
frequently holds the plough and guides  
the horses without any one else to      
assist him1 as they do in ,scotland1 and
 which in ,england they hold to be an   
agricultural heresy4 ,in ,surrey1 where 
an ,english gentleman had hired a       
,scotch servant to try this method1 the 

boors actually collected round the man  
in the church-yard on ,sunday1 and      
pointed at him1 crying1 #8,that's he who
 ploughs and drives the horses himself6'
 ,our prejudices are no less on the     
alert1 and quite as obstinate against   
what is right as what is wrong4 ,i      
cannot say ,i was quite pleased with my 
barber at ,dieppe1 who inserted a drop  
of citron juice in the lather ,i was to 
shave with1 and converted it into a most
 agreeable perfume4 ,it was an          
association of ideas1 a false           
refinement1 to which ,i had not been    
accustomed1 and to which ,i was averse4 
,the best excuse ,i could find for my   
reluctance to be pleased1 was that at   
the next place where the same thing was 
attempted1 the operator1 by some        
villainous mixture1 almost stunk me to  
death6  ,the entrance into ,rouen1      
through extensive archways of tall      
trees1 planted along the margin of the  
,seine1 is certainly delectable4 ,here  
the genius of civilized ,france first   

began to display itself4 ,companies of  
men and women were sitting in the open  
air1 enjoying the cool of the evening1  
and the serene moonlight1 under ,chinese
 lamps1 with fruit and confectionery4   
,we arrived rather late1 but were well  
received and accommodated at the ,hotel 
,vatel4 ,my bad ,french by no means1    
however1 conciliates the regard or      
increases the civility of the people on 
the road4 ,they pay particular          
attention1 and are particularly         
delighted with the ,english1 who speak  
,french well1 or with tolerable fluency 
and correctness1 for they think it a    
compliment to themselves and to the     
language2 whereas1 besides their dislike
 to all difficulty and uncertainty of   
communication1 they resent an obvious   
neglect on this point as an affront1 and
 an unwarrantable assumption of         
superiority1 as if it were enough for an
 ,englishman to shew himself among them 
to be well received1 without so much as 
deigning to make himself intelligible4  

,a person1 who passes through a country 
in sullen silence1 must appear very much
 in the character of a spy4 ,many things
 7a native is conscious7 will seem      
strange to a foreigner1 who can neither 
ask the meaning1 nor understand the     
explanation of them2 and on the other   
hand1 if in these circumstances you are 
loquacious and inquisitive1 you become  
proportionably troublesome4 ,it would   
have been better 7such is the natural   
feeling1 the dictate at once of         
self-love and common sense7 to have     
learned the language before you visited 
the country4 ,an accent1 an occasional  
blunder1 a certain degree of hesitation 
are amusing1 and indirectly flatter the 
pride of foreigners2 but a total        
ignorance or wilful reluctance in       
speaking shews both a contempt for the  
people1 and an inattention to good      
manners4 ,to neglect to make one's self 
master of a language tacitly implies1   
that in travelling through a country we 
have neither wants nor wishes to        

gratify2 that we are quite independent1 
and have no ambition to give pleasure1  
or to receive instruction4  ,at ,rouen  
the walls of our apartment were bare1   
being mere lath and plaster1 a huge     
cobweb hung in the window1 the curtains 
were shabby and dirty1 and the floor    
without carpeting or matting2 but our   
table was well-furnished1 and in the    
,english taste4 ,french cooking         
comprehends ,english1 and easily        
condescends to it2 so that an           
,englishman finds himself better off in 
,france than a ,frenchman does in       
,england4 ,they complain that our       
cookery is dry1 and our solid1 unsavoury
 morsels1 beef-steaks1 and mutton chops1
 must stick in their throats as well as 
be repulsive to their imaginations2 nor 
can we supply the additional sauces or  
disguises which are necessary to set    
them off4 ,on the other hand1 we had a  
dinner at the ,hotel ,vatel1 a roast    
fowl1 greens1 and bacon1 as plain1 as   
sweet1 and wholesome1 as we could get at

 an ,english farm-house4 ,we had also   
pigeons1 partridges1 and other game1 in 
excellent preservation1 and kept quite  
clear of ,french receipts and odious    
ragouts4 ,game or poultry is the        
half-way house1 a sort of middle point1 
between ,french and ,english cookery4   
,the bread here is excellent1 the butter
 admirable1 the milk and coffee superior
 to what we meet with at home4 ,the wine
 and fruit1 too1 are delightful1 but    
real ,french dishes are an abomination  
to an ,english palate4 ,unless a man    
means to stay all his life abroad1 let  
him beware of making the experiment1 or 
get near enough to the door to make his 
exit suddenly4 ,the common charges at   
the inns are much the same as in        
,england2 we paid twenty-pence for      
breakfast1 and half a crown1 or three   
shillings1 for dinner4 ,the best        
,burgundy is only three shillings and   
fourpence a bottle4 ,a green parrot hung
 in a cage1 in a small court under our  
window1 and received the compliments and

 caresses of every one who passed4 ,it  
is wonderful how fond the ,french are of
 holding conversation with animals of   
all descriptions1 parrots1 dogs1        
monkeys4 ,is it that they choose to have
 all the talk to themselves1 to make    
propositions1 and fancy the answers2    
that they like this discourse by signs1 
by jabbering1 and gesticulation1 or that
 the manifestation of the principle of  
life without thought delights them above
 all things8 ,the sociableness of the   
,french seems to expand itself beyond   
the level of humanity1 and to be        
unconscious of any descent4 ,two boys in
 the kitchen appeared to have nothing to
 do but to beat up the white of eggs    
into froth for salads4 ,the labour of   
the ,french costs them nothing1 so that 
they readily throw it away in doing     
nothing or the merest trifles4 ,a       
nice-looking girl who officiated as     
chamber-maid1 brought in a ripe melon   
after dinner1 and offering it with much 
grace and good humour as #8un petit     

cadeau' 7a trifling present7 was rather 
hurt we did not accept of it4 ,indeed it
 was wrong4 ,a ,mr4 ,james ,williams    
acted as our ,english interpreter while 
we staid1 and procured us places in the 
,paris ,diligence1 though it was said to
 be quite full4 ,we here also heard that
 the packet we came over in1 blew up two
 days after1 and that the passengers    
escaped in fishing-boats4 ,this has     
completed my distaste to steam-boats4   
,the city of ,rouen is one of the oldest
 and finest in ,france4 ,it contains    
about a hundred thousand inhabitants1   
two noble churches2 a handsome quay is  
embosomed in a range of lofty hills1 and
 watered by the ,seine1 which1 proud of 
its willowy banks and tufted islands1   
winds along by it4 ,the ascent up the   
rising grounds behind it1 is magnificent
 beyond description4 ,the town is spread
 out at your feet 7an immense1 stately  
mass of dark grey stone71 the double    
towers of the old ,gothic ,cathedral1   
and of the beautiful ,church of ,st4    

,antoine1 rise above it in their        
majestic proportions1 overlooking the   
rich sunny valleys which stretch away in
 the distance2 you gradually climb an   
amphitheatre of hills1 sprinkled with   
gardens and villas to the very top1 and 
the walk on ,sunday afternoon is crowded
 with people enjoying the scene1 adding 
to its animation by their intelligent1  
varying looks1 and adorning it by their 
picturesque and richly-coloured dresses4
 ,there is no town in ,england at the   
same time so fine1 and so finely        
situated4 ,oxford is as fine in its     
buildings and associations1 but it has  
not the same advantages of situation3   
,bristol is as fine a mass of buildings1
 but without the same striking          
accompaniments--               #8,the   
pomp of groves and garniture of fields4'
  ,edinburgh alone is as splendid in its
 situation and buildings1 and would have
 even a more imposing and delightful    
effect if ,arthur's ,seat were crowned  
with thick woods1 if the ,pentland-hills

 could be converted into green pastures1
 if the ,scotch people were ,french1 and
 ,leith-walk planted with vineyards6    
,the only blot in this fair scene was   
the meeting with a number of cripples1  
whose hideous cries attracted and       
alarmed attention before their          
formidable mutilations became visible1  
and who extorted charity rather from    
terror than pity4 ,such objects abound  
in ,france and on the ,continent4 ,is it
 from the want of hospitals1 or from the
 bad care taken of the young and        
necessitous1 to whom some dreadful      
accident has happened8--,the hill that  
commands this beautiful prospect1 and   
seems the resort of health1 of life1 of 
pleasure1 is called 7as ,i found on     
inquiry7 ,mont des ,malades6 ,would any 
people but the ,french think of giving  
it so inauspicious a title8 ,to the     
,english such a name would spoil the    
view1 and infect the imagination with   
the recollections of pain and sickness4 
,but a ,frenchman's imagination is proof

 against such weaknesses2 he has no     
sympathy except with the pleasurable2   
and provided a hill presents an         
agreeable prospect1 never troubles his  
head whether the inhabitants are sick or
 well4 ,the streets of ,rouen1 like     
those of other towns in ,france1 are    
dirty for the same reason4 ,a           
,frenchman's senses and understanding   
are alike inaccessible to pain--he      
recognises 7happily for himself7 the    
existence only of that which adds to his
 importance or his satisfaction4 ,he is 
delighted with perfumes1 but passes over
 the most offensive smells1#ab and will 
not lift up his little finger to remove 
a general nuisance1 for it is none to   
him4 ,he leaves the walls of his houses 
unfinished1 dilapidated1 almost         
uninhabitable1 because his thoughts are 
bent on adorning his own person--on     
jewels1 trinkets1 pomade divine6 ,he is 
elaborate in his cookery and his dress1 
because the one flatters his vanity1 the
 other his appetite2 and he is          

licentious in his pleasures1 nay gross  
in his manners1 because in the first he 
consults only his immediate             
gratification1 and in the last annoys   
others continually1 from having no      
conception that any thing he 7a         
,frenchman7 can do can possibly annoy   
them4 ,he is sure to offend1 because he 
takes it for granted he must please4 ,a 
great deal of ordinary ,french          
conversation might be spared before     
foreigners1 if they knew the pain it    
gives4 ,virtue is not only put out of   
countenance by it1 but vice becomes an  
indifferent common-place in their       
mouths4 ,the last stage of human        
depravity is1 when vice ceases to       
shock--or to please4 ,a ,frenchman's    
candour and indifference to what must be
 thought of him 7combined with his      
inordinate desire to shine7 are curious4
 ,the hero of his own little tale       
carries a load of crimes and misfortunes
 at his back like a lead of band-boxes1 
and 7light-hearted wretch7 sings and    

dances as he goes6 ,the                 
inconsequentiality in the ,french       
character1 from extreme facility and    
buoyancy of impression1 is a matter of  
astonishment to the ,english4 ,a young  
man at ,rouen was walking briskly along 
the street to church1 all the way       
tossing his prayer-book into the air1   
when suddenly on reaching the entrance a
 priest appeared coming from church1 and
 he fell on his knees on the steps4 ,no 
wonder the ,popish clergy stand up for  
their religion1 when it makes others    
fall on their knees before them1 and    
worship their appearance as the shadow  
of the ,almighty6 ,the clergy in ,france
 present an agreeable and almost        
necessary foil to the foibles of the    
national character1 with their sombre   
dress1 their gravity1 their simplicity1 
their sanctity4 ,it is not strange they 
exert such an influence there3 their    
professional pretensions to learning and
 piety must have a double weight1 from  
having nothing to oppose to them but    

frivolity and the impulse of the moment4
 ,the entering the ,cathedral here after
 the bustle and confusion of the        
streets1 is like entering a vault--a    
tomb of worldly thoughts and pleasures1 
pointing to the skies4 ,the slow and    
solemn movements of the ,priests1 as    
grave as they are unmeaning1 resemble   
the spells of necromancers2 the pictures
 and statues of the dead contrast       
strangely with the faces of the living2 
the chaunt of the ,priests sounds       
differently from the jargon of the      
common people2 the little oratories and 
cells1 with some lone mourner kneeling  
before a crucifix1 every thing leads the
 thoughts to another world1 to death1   
the resurrection1 and a judgment to     
come4 ,the walls and ornaments of this  
noble pile are left in a state of the   
most lamentable neglect1 and the        
infinite number of paltry1 rush-bottomed
 chairs1 huddled together in the aisle1 
are just like the rubbish of a broker's 
shop4 ,the great bell of the ,cathedral 

is the most deep-mouthed ,i ever heard1 
#8swinging slow with sullen roar1' rich 
and sonorous1 and hoarse with counting  
the flight of a thousand years4 ,it is  
worth while to visit ,france1 were it   
only to see ,rouen4                     
,,chapter ,,iii   ,,the ,,road ,,to     
,,paris4--,they vaunt much of the ,lower
 ,road from ,rouen to ,paris2 but it is 
not so fine as that from ,dieppe to     
,rouen4 ,you have comparatively few     
trees1 the soil is less fertile1 and you
 are 7nearly the whole way7 tantalized  
with the vast1 marshy-looking plains of 
,normandy1 with the ,seine glittering   
through them like a snake1 and a chain  
of abrupt chalky hills1 like a wall or  
barrier bounding them4 ,there is nothing
 ,i hate like a distant prospect without
 any thing interesting in it--it is     
continually dragging the eye a wearisome
 journey1 and repaying it with          
barrenness and deformity4 ,yet a        
,frenchman contrived to make a panegyric
 on this scene1 after the fashion of his

 countrymen1 and with that sort of      
tripping jerk which is peculiar to their
 minds and bodies--#8,il y a de l'eau1  
il y a des bois1 il y a des montagnes1  
il y a de la verdure1' c4 ,it is true1  
there were all these things in the      
abstract1 or as so many detached        
particulars to make a speech about1     
which was all that he wanted4 ,a        
,frenchman's eye for nature is merely   
nominal4 ,i find that with the novelty1 
or on farther experience my enthusiasm  
for the country and the people1 palls a 
little4 ,during a long day's march 7for 
,i was too late1 or rather too ill to go
 by the six o'clock morning ,diligence17
 ,i got as tired of toiling on under a  
scorching sun and over a dusty road1 as 
if ,i had been in ,england4 ,indeed1 ,i 
could almost have fancied myself there1 
for ,i scarcely met with a human being  
to remind me of the difference4 ,i at   
one time encountered a horseman mounted 
on a demipique saddle1 in a half        
military uniform1 who seemed determined 

to make me turn out of the foot-path1#ac
 or to ride over me4 ,this looked a     
little ,english1 though the man did not4
 ,i should take him for an ,exciseman4  
,i suppose in all countries people on   
horseback give themselves airs of       
superiority over those who are on foot4 
,the ,french character is not altogether
 compounded of the amiable1 any more    
than the ,english is of the respectable4
 ,in judging of nations1 it will not do 
to deal in mere abstractions4 ,in       
countries1 as well as individuals1 there
 is a mixture of good and bad qualities2
 yet we may attempt to strike a general 
balance1 and compare the rules with the 
exceptions4 ,soon after my equestrian   
adventure 7or escape17 ,i met with      
another pleasanter one2 a little girl1  
with regular features and dark eyes1    
dressed in white1 and with a large straw
 bonnet flapping over her face1 was     
mounted behind a youth who seemed to be 
a relation1 on an ass--a common mode of 
conveyance in this country4 ,the young  

lad was trying to frighten her1 by      
forcing the animal out of its usual easy
 pace into a canter1 while she1 holding 
fast1 and between laughing and crying1  
called out in a voice of great sweetness
 and navet--#8,il n'est pas bon trotter1
 il n'est pas bon trotter4' ,there was a
 playfulness in the expression of her   
terrors quite charming1 and quite       
,french4 ,they turned down an avenue to 
a villa a little way out of the road4 ,i
 could not help looking after them1 and 
thinking what a delightful welcome must 
await such innocence1 such cheerfulness1
 and such dark sparkling eyes6 ,mais    
allons4 ,these reflections are perhaps  
misplaced3 ,france is not at present    
altogether the land of gallantry or     
sentiment1 were one ever so much        
disposed to them4  ,within half a mile  
of ,louviers 7which is seven leagues    
from ,rouen7 a ,diligence passed me on  
the road at the full speed of a ,french 
,diligence1 rolling and rumbling on its 
way over a paved road1 with five        

clumsy-looking horses1 and loaded to the
 top like a ,plymouth van4 ,i was to    
stop at ,louviers1 at the ,hotel de     
,mouton1 and to proceed to ,paris by the
 coach the next day2 for ,i was told    
there was no conveyance onwards that    
day1 and ,i own that this apparition of 
a ,diligence in full sail1 and in broad 
day 7when ,i had understood there were  
none but night coaches7 surprised me4 ,i
 was going to set it down in #8my       
tables1' that there is no faith to be   
placed in what they say at ,french inns4
 ,i quickened my pace in hopes of       
overtaking it while it changed horses4  
,the main street of ,louviers appeared  
to me very long and uneven4 ,on turning 
a corner1 the ,hotel de ,mouton opened  
its gates to receive me1 the ,diligence 
was a little farther on1 with fresh     
horses just put to and ready to start 7a
 critical and provoking dilemma27 ,i    
hesitated a moment1 and at last resolved
 to take my chance in the ,diligence1   
and seeing ,paris written on the        

outside1 and being informed by ,monsieur
 le ,conducteur1 that ,i could stop at  
,evreux for the night1 ,i took the rest 
for granted1 and mounted in the         
cabriolet1 where sat an ,english        
gentleman 7one of those with whom ,i had
 come over in the steam-boat17 solitary 
and silent4 ,my seating myself in the   
opposite corner of the cabriolet 7which 
is that part of a ,french ,diligence    
which is placed in front1 and resembles 
a post-chaise in form and ease17 did not
 break the solitude or the silence4 ,in 
company1 two negatives do not make an   
affirmative4 ,i know few things more    
delightful than for two ,englishmen to  
loll in a post-chaise in this manner1   
taking no notice of each other1         
preserving an obstinate silence1 and    
determined to send their country to     
,coventry4#ad ,we pretended not to      
recognise each other1 and yet our saying
 nothing proved every instant that we   
were not ,french4 ,at length1 about half
 way1 my companion opened his lips1 and 

asked in thick1 broken ,french1 #8,how  
far it was to ,evreux8' ,i looked at    
him1 and said in ,english1 #8,i did not 
know4' ,not another word passed1 yet1 ,i
 dare say1 both of us had a very        
agreeable time of it1 as the ,diligence 
moved on to ,evreux1 making reflections 
on the national character1 and each     
thinking himself an exception to its    
absurdities1 an instance of its virtues2
 so easy is it always 7and more         
particularly abroad7 to fancy ourselves 
free from the errors we witness in our  
neighbours4 ,it is this1 indeed1 which  
makes us so eager to detect them1 as if 
to see what is wrong was the same thing 
as being in the right6  ,at ,evreux1 ,i 
found ,i had gone quite out of my road1 
and that there was no conveyance to     
,paris till the same hour the next      
night4 ,i was a good deal mortified and 
perplexed at this intelligence1 but     
found some consolation at the ,office   
where ,i obtained it1 from casually     
hearing the name of my companion1 which 

is a great point gained in travelling4  
,of course1 the discovery is pleasant1  
if it is a name you are acquainted with2
 or if not1 at least you have the       
satisfaction of knowing it is some one  
you do not know1 and so are made easy on
 that head4 ,i bespoke a bed1 and was   
shown into the common room1 where ,i    
took coffee1 and had what the ,scotch   
call a brandered fowl for supper4 ,the  
room was papered with marine landscapes1
 so that you seemed sitting in the open 
air with boats and trees and the        
sea-shore all round you1 and ,telemachus
 and ,calypso1 figures landing or       
embarking on halcyon seas4 ,even a      
country-inn in ,france is classical4 ,it
 is a pity that the ,english are so dull
 and sluggish1 #8like the fat weed that 
roots itself at ease on ,lethe's wharf1'
 that they cannot lend themselves to    
these airy fictions1 always staring them
 in the face1 but rather turn away from 
them with an impatience and disgust     
proportioned to the elegance of the     

design and the tax levied on their      
taste4 ,a ,frenchman's imagination1 on  
the contrary1 is always at the call of  
his senses4 ,the latter have but to give
 the hint1 and the former is glad to    
take it6 ,i tired every one out by      
inquiring my best mode of getting on to 
,paris next day2 and being slow to      
believe that my only way was to go back 
to ,louviers1 like a fool as ,i had     
come1 a young ,frenchman took compassion
 on my embarrassment1 and offered to be 
my interpreter1 #8as he spoke both      
languages4' ,he said1 #8,i must feel    
great pain in not being able to express 
myself4' ,i said #8,none but in giving  
others the trouble to understand me4'   
,he shook his head1 ,i spoke much too   
fast for him2 he apologized for not     
being able to follow me from want of    
habit1 though he said1 #8he belonged to 
a society of twelve at ,paris1 where    
they spoke ,english every evening       
generally4' ,i said1 #8we were well     
matched1' and when this was explained to

 him1 he repeated the word #8matched1'  
with a ludicrous air of distress1 at    
finding that there was an ,english      
phrase which was not familiarised to him
 in #8the society of twelve1 where they 
spoke the ,english language generally   
every evening4' ,we soon came to a dead 
stand1 and he turned to my ,english     
companion in the cabriolet1 on whom he  
bestowed1 for the rest of the evening1  
the tediousness of any #8society of     
twelve4' ,i could not help laughing to  
see my luckless fellow-countryman1 after
 one or two attempts to rally and       
exchange remarks1 reduced to the        
incessant repetition of his melancholy  
#8oui1' and my lively ,parisian rioting 
in the advantage he had obtained over a 
straggling ,englishman1 gliding from    
topic to topic without contradiction or 
control1 passing from the population of 
,paris to the ,beaux-,arts1 from the    
,belles-,lettres to politics1 running   
the circle of knowledge1 and finding    
himself still at home1 faltering at the 

mention of the ,allies and the          
,bourbons1 and rising with outstretched 
arm and continuous voice at the name of 
,buonopar-r 7like the eagle soaring on  
level wing7--getting nearer and nearer  
the victim of his volubility1 seizing my
 poor friend by the button1 and at last 
retiring abruptly1 as if afraid of a    
re-action1 and wishing him #8good       
repose' for the evening4 ,happy member  
of a #8society of twelve6' ,apt         
representative of thirty millions of    
people1 who build their self-esteem on  
the basis of vanity1 and weave happiness
 out of breath1 which costs them        
nothing6 ,why envy1 why wish to         
interrupt them1 like a mischievous      
school-boy1 who throws a great stone    
into a pond full of frogs1 who croak    
their delights #8generally every        
evening1' and who1 the instant the chasm
 is closed1 return to the charge with   
unabated glee and joyous dissonance6  ,i
 must not forget to mention a favourable
 trait in the common ,french character4 

,i asked to speak to the ,conducteur1   
and something like a charge of deception
 was brought1 from which he defended    
himself strenuously4 ,the whole kitchen 
and stable-yard gathered round to hear a
 dispute1 which was by no means waged   
with equal war of words4 ,they          
understood that ,i was disappointed1 and
 had made a ridiculous mistake4 ,not a  
word or look of derision was observable 
in the whole group2 but rather a rising 
smile1 suppressed for fear of giving    
pain1 and a wish to suggest some        
expedient on the occasion4 ,in ,england1
 ,i will venture to say1 that a         
,frenchman1 in similar circumstances1   
stammering out a grave charge of        
imposition against a coachman1 and      
evidently at a loss how to proceed1     
would have been hooted out of the place1
 and it would have been well for him if 
he had escaped without broken bones4 ,if
 the ,french have the vices of          
artificial refinement and effeminacy1   
the ,english still retain too many of   

those which belong to a barbarous and   
savage state4  ,i returned to ,louviers 
the next morning under the safe conduct 
of my former guide1 where ,i arrived    
half an hour before the necessary time1 
found myself regularly booked for       
,paris1 with five francs paid on        
account2 and after a very comfortable   
breakfast1 where ,i was waited on by a  
pretty1 modest-looking brunette 7for the
 ,french country-girls are in general   
modest-looking17 ,i took my seat in the 
fourth place of the ,diligence4 ,here ,i
 met with every thing to annoy an       
,englishman4 ,there was a ,frenchman in 
the coach1 who had a dog and a little   
boy with him1 the last having a doll in 
his hands1 which he insisted on playing 
with2 or cried and screamed furiously if
 it was taken from him4 ,it was a true  
,french child2 that is1 a little old    
man1 like ,leonardo da ,vinci's         
,laughing ,boy1 with eyes glittering    
like the glass ones of his favourite    
doll1 with flaxen ringlets like hers1   

with cheeks as smooth and unhealthy1 and
 a premature expression of cunning and  
self-complacency4 ,a disagreeable or    
ill-behaved child in a stage coach is a 
common accident1 and to be endured4 ,but
 who but a ,frenchman would think of    
carrying his dog8 ,he might as well drag
 his horse into the coach after him4 ,a 
,frenchman 7with leave be it spoken7 has
 no need to take a dog with him to      
ventilate the air of a coach1 in which  
there are three other ,frenchmen4 ,it   
was impossible to suffer more from heat1
 from pressure1 or from the periodical  
#8exhalation of rich-distilled          
perfumes4' ,if the ,french have lost the
 sense of smell1 they should reflect 7as
 they are a reflecting people7 that     
others have not4 ,really1 ,i do not see 
how they have a right in a public       
vehicle to assault one in this way by   
proxy1 any more than to take one        
literally by the nose4 ,one does not    
expect from the most refined and        
polished people in ,europe grossnesses  

that an ,esquimaux ,indian would have   
too much sense and modesty to be guilty 
of4 ,if the presence of their dogs is a 
nuisance1 the conversation of their     
masters is often no less offensive to   
another sense--both are suffocating to  
every body but themselves1 and worthy of
 each other4 ,midas whispered his secret
 to the reeds1 that whispered it again4 
,the ,french1 if they are wise1 ought   
not to commit the national character on 
certain delicate points in the manner   
they do4 ,while they were triumphant1   
less caution might be necessary3 but no 
people can afford at the same time to be
 odious as well as contemptible in the  
eyes of their enemies4 ,we dined at     
,mantes1 where the ordinary was         
plentiful and excellent1 and where a    
gentleman of a very prepossessing       
appearance took up the conversation     
7descanting on the adventures of a      
shooting-party the day before7 in that  
gay1 graceful1 and animated tone1 which 
,i conceive to be characteristic of the 

best ,french society4 ,in talking and   
laughing1 he discovered 7though a young 
man7 the inroads which hot soups and    
high-seasoned ragouts had made in his   
mouth1 with the same alacrity and       
good-humour as if he had to shew a      
complete set of the whitest teeth4 ,we  
passed an interesting village1 situated 
on the slope of a hill1 with a quaint   
old tower projecting above it1 and      
over-hanging the ,seine4 ,not far from  
the high road stands ,rosny1 once the   
seat of the celebrated ,sully4 ,the     
approach to the capital on the side of  
,st4 ,germain's is one continued        
succession of imposing beauty and       
artificial splendour1 of groves1 of     
avenues1 of bridges1 of palaces1 and of 
towns like palaces1 all the way to      
,paris1 where the sight of the          
,thuilleries completes the triumph of   
external magnificence1 and oppresses the
 soul with recollections not to be borne
 or to be expressed6--,of them1 perhaps1
 hereafter4  ,in the coach coming along1

 a ,frenchman was curious to learn of a 
,scotch gentleman1 who spoke very       
respectable ,french1 whether ,lord      
,byron was much regretted in ,england8  
,he said there was much beauty in his   
writings1 but too much straining after  
effect4 ,he added1 that there was no    
attempt at effect in ,racine4 ,this with
 the ,french is a final appeal in       
matters of poetry and taste4 ,a         
translation of ,lord ,byron's ,works    
complete is common in all the shops     
here4 ,i am not sure whether an ,english
 ,poet ought to be proud of this        
circumstance or not4 ,i also saw an     
,elegy on his ,death advertised1 said to
 be written by his friend1 ,sir ,thomas 
,more4 ,how oddly the ,french combine   
things6 ,there is a ,sir ,thomas ,more  
in ,english ,history and ,letters2 but  
that ,sir ,thomas ,more is not this ,mr4
 ,thomas ,moore--#8let their discreet   
hearts believe it6'                     
,,chapter ,,iv   ,the first thing ,i did
 when ,i got to ,paris was to go to the 

,louvre4 ,it was indeed #8first and last
 and midst' in my thoughts4 ,well might 
it be so1 for it had never been absent  
from them for twenty years4 ,i had gazed
 myself almost blind in looking at the  
precious works of art it then           
contained--should ,i not weep myself    
blind in looking at them again1 after a 
lapse of half a life--or on finding them
 gone1 and with them gone all that ,i   
had once believed and hoped of human    
kind8 ,what could ever fill up that     
blank in my heart1 fearful to think     
upon--fearful to look upon8 ,i was no   
longer young2 and he who had collected  
them1 and #8worn them as a rich jewel in
 his ,iron ,crown1' was dead1 a captive 
and vanquished2 and with him all we who 
remained were #8thrown into the pit1'   
the lifeless bodies of men1 and wore    
round our necks the collar of servitude1
 and on our foreheads the brand1 and in 
our flesh and in our souls the stain of 
thraldom and of the born slaves of      
,kings4 ,yet thus far had ,i come once  

more #8to dream and be an ,emperour6'   
,thou sacred shrine of ,god-like        
magnificence1 must not my heart fail and
 my feet stumble1 as ,i approach thee8  
,how gladly would ,i kneel down and kiss
 thy threshold2 and crawl into thy      
presence1 like an ,eastern slave6 ,for  
here still linger the broken remains and
 the faded splendour of that proud      
monument of the triumphs of art and of  
the majesty of man's nature over the    
mock-majesty of thrones6 ,here ,genius  
and ,fame dwell together2 #8,school     
calleth unto ,school1' and mighty names 
answer to each other2 that old gallery  
points to the long1 dim perspective of  
waning years1 and the shadow of ,glory  
and of ,liberty is seen afar off4 ,in   
pacing its echoing floors1 ,i hear the  
sound of the footsteps of my youth1 and 
the dead start from their slumbers6444  
,in all the time that ,i had been away  
from thee1 and amidst all the changes   
that had happened in it1 did ,i ever    
forget1 did ,i ever profane thee8 ,never

 for a moment or in thought have ,i     
swerved from thee1 or from the cause of 
which thou wert the pledge and crown4   
,often have ,i sought thee in sleep1 and
 cried myself awake to find thee1 with  
the heart-felt yearnings of intolerable 
affection4 ,still didst thou haunt me1  
like a passionate dream--like some proud
 beauty1 the queen and mistress of my   
thoughts4 ,neither pain nor sickness    
could wean me from thee--               
#8,my theme in crowds1 my solitary      
pride4'  ,in the tangled forest or the  
barren waste--in the lowly hovel or the 
lofty palace1 thy roofs reared their    
vaulted canopy over my head1 a loftier  
palace1 an ampler space--a #8brave      
o'er-hanging firmament1' studded with   
constellations of art4 ,wherever ,i was1
 thou wert with me1 above me and about  
me2 and didst #8hang upon the beatings  
of my heart1' a vision and a joy        
unutterable4 ,there was one chamber of  
the brain 7at least7 which ,i had only  
to unlock and be master of boundless    

wealth--a treasure-house of pure        
thoughts and cherished recollections4   
,tyranny could not master1 barbarism    
slunk from it2 vice could not pollute1  
folly could not gainsay it4 ,i had but  
to touch a certain spring1 and lo6 on   
the walls the divine grace of ,guido    
appeared free from blemish--there were  
the golden hues of ,titian1 and         
,raphael's speaking faces1 the splendour
 of ,rubens1 the gorgeous gloom of      
,rembrandt1 the airy elegance of        
,vandyke1 and ,claude's classic scenes  
lapped the senses in ,elysium1 and      
,poussin breathed the spirit of         
antiquity over them4 ,there1 in that    
fine old lumber-room of the imagination1
 were the ,transfiguration1 and the ,st4
 ,peter ,martyr1 with its majestic      
figures and its unrivalled landscape    
background4 ,there also were the two    
,st4 ,jeromes1 ,domenichino's and       
,correggio's--there #8stood the statue  
that enchants the world'--there were the
 ,apollo and the ,antinous1 the         

,laocoon1 the ,dying ,gladiator1 ,diana 
and her ,fawn1 and all the glories of   
the antique world--                     
#8,there was old ,proteus coming from   
the sea1               ,and aged ,triton
 blew his wreathed horn4'  ,but         
,legitimacy did not #8sit squat1 like a 
toad1' in one corner of it1 poisoning   
the very air1 and keeping the free-born 
spirit aloof from it6  ,there were one  
or two pictures 7old favourites7 that ,i
 wished to see again1 and that ,i was   
told still remained4 ,i longed to know  
whether they were there1 and whether    
they would look the same4 ,it was       
fortunate ,i arrived when ,i did2 for a 
week later the doors would have been    
shut against me1 on occasion of the     
death of the ,king4 ,his bust is over   
the door1 which ,i had nearly mistaken  
for a head of ,memnon--or some ,egyptian
 ,god4 ,after passing through the modern
 ,french ,exhibition 7where ,i saw a    
picture by ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence1 and a
 vile farrago of ,bourbon-,restoration  

pictures17 ,i came within sight of the  
,grand ,gallery of the ,louvre1 which is
 at present only railed off4 ,one or two
 ,english stragglers alone were in it4  
,the coolness and stillness were        
contrasted with the bustle1 the heat1   
and the smell of the common apartments4 
,my thoughts rushed in and filled the   
empty space4 ,instead of the old        
,republican door-keepers1 with their    
rough voices and affectation of         
equality1 a servant in a court-livery   
stood at the gate4 ,on presenting       
myself1 ,i inquired if a ,monsieur      
,livernois 7who had formerly ushered me 
into this region of enchantment7 were   
still there2 but he was gone or dead4   
,my hesitation and foreign accent1 with 
certain other appeals1 procured me      
admittance4 ,i passed on without further
 question4 ,i cast a glance forward1 and
 found that the ,poussins were there4   
,at the sight of the first1 which ,i    
distinctly recollected 7a fine green    
landscape1 with stately ruins17 the     

tears came into my eyes1 and ,i passed  
an hour or two in that state of         
luxurious enjoyment1 which is the       
highest privilege of the mind of man1   
and which perhaps makes him amends for  
many sorrows4 ,to my surprise1 instead  
of finding the whole changed1 ,i found  
every thing nearly in its place1 as ,i  
proceeded through the first             
compartments1 which ,i did slowly1 and  
reserving the ,italian pictures for a   
bon bouche4 ,the colours even seemed to 
have been mellowed1 and to have grown to
 the walls in the last twenty years1 as 
if the pictures had been fixed there by 
the cramping-irons of ,victory1 instead 
of hanging loose and fluttering1 like so
 much tattered canvass1 at the sound of 
,english drums1 and breath of ,prussian 
manifestoes4 ,nothing could be better   
managed than the way in which they had  
blended the ,claudes and ,poussins      
alternately together--the ethereal      
refinement and dazzling brilliancy of   
the one relieving and giving additional 

zest to the sombre1 grave1 massive      
character of the other4 ,claude         
,lorraine pours the spirit of air over  
all objects1 and new-creates them of    
light and sunshine4 ,in several of his  
master-pieces which are shewn here1 the 
vessels1 the trees1 the temples and     
middle distances glimmer between air and
 solid substance1 and seem moulded of a 
new element in nature4 ,no words can do 
justice to their softness1 their        
precision1 their sparkling effect4 ,but 
they do not lead the mind out of their  
own magic circle4 ,they repose on their 
own beauty2 they fascinate with         
faultless elegance4 ,poussin's          
landscapes are more properly pictures of
 time than of place4 ,they have a fine  
moral perspective1 not inferior to      
,claude's arial one4 ,they carry the    
imagination back two or four thousand   
years at least1 and bury it in the      
remote twilight of history4 ,there is an
 opaqueness and solemnity in his        
colouring1 assimilating with the tone of

 long-past events3 his buildings are    
stiff with age2 his implements of       
husbandry are such as would belong to   
the first rude stages of civilization2  
his harvests are such 7as in the ,ruth  
and ,boaz7 as would yield to no modern  
sickle2 his grapes 7as in the ,return   
from the ,promised ,land7 are a load to 
modern shoulders2 there is a simplicity 
and undistinguishing breadth in his     
figures2 and over all1 the hand of time 
has drawn its veil4 ,poussin has his    
faults2 but1 like all truly great men1  
there is that in him which is to be     
found nowhere else2 and even the        
excellences of others would be defects  
in him4 ,one picture of his in          
particular drew my attention1 which ,i  
had not seen before4 ,it is an addition 
to the ,louvre1 and makes up for many a 
flaw in it4 ,it is the ,adam and ,eve in
 ,paradise1 and it is all that ,mr4     
,martin's picture of that subject is    
not4 ,it is a scene of sweetness and    
seclusion #8to cure all sadness but     

despair4' ,there is the freshness of the
 first dawn of creation1 immortal       
verdure1 the luxuriant budding growth of
 unpruned ,nature's gifts1 the stillness
 and the privacy1 as if there were only 
those two beings in the world1 made for 
each other1 and with this world of      
beauty for the scene of their delights4 
,it is a ,heaven descended upon earth1  
as if the finger of ,god had planted the
 garden with trees and fruits and       
flowers1 and his hand had watered it6   
,one fault only can be found by the     
critical eye4 ,perhaps the scene is too 
flat4 ,if the #8verdurous wall of       
,paradise' had upreared itself behind   
our first parents1 it would have closed 
them in more completely1 and would have 
given effect to the blue hills that     
gleam enchantment in the distance4      
,opposite1 #8in darkness visible1' hangs
 the famous landscape of the ,deluge by 
the same master-hand1 a leaden weight on
 the walls with the ark #8hulling' on   
the distant flood1 the sun labouring1   

wan and faint1 up the sky1 and the      
heavens1 #8blind with rain1' pouring    
down their total cisterns on the        
weltering earth4 ,men and women and     
different animals are struggling with   
the wide-spread desolation2 and trees1  
climbing the sides of rocks1 seem       
patiently awaiting it above4 ,one would 
think ,lord ,byron had transcribed his  
admirable account of the ,deluge in his 
,heaven and ,earth from this noble      
picture1 which is in truth the very     
poetry of painting4--,one here finds    
also the more unequivocal productions of
 the ,french school 7for ,claude and    
,poussin#ae were in a great measure     
,italian17 ,le ,brun1 ,sebastian        
,bourdon1 some of ,le ,sueur's          
expressive faces1 and the bland         
expansive style of ,philip              
,champagne--no mean name in the history 
of art4 ,see1 in particular1 the        
exquisite picture of the ,sick ,nun1    
7the ,nun was his own daughter1 and he  
painted this picture as a present to the

 ,convent1 in gratitude for her         
recovery17--and another of a ,religious 
,communion1 with attendants in rich     
dresses4  ,one finds no considerable    
gap1 till one comes to the ,antwerp     
pictures2 and this yawning chasm is not 
ill supplied by the ,luxembourg         
pictures1 those splendid solecisms of   
,rubens's art4 ,never was exhibited a   
greater union of ,french flutter and    
,gothic grace1 of borrowed absurdity and
 inherent power4 ,he has made a strange 
jumble of the ,heathen mythology1 his   
own wives1 and the mistresses of ,louis 
,,xiii4 ,his youthful ,gods are painted 
all light and air1 and figure in        
quaintly enough1 with some flaunting    
,dowager dressed in the height of the   
fashion in the middle of the #agth      
century1 or with some strapping quean   
7his queens are queans7 with her robes  
of rich stuffs slipping off her         
shoulders1 and displaying limbs that1   
both for form and hue1 provoke any      
feeling but indifference4 ,his groups   

spring from the bold licentious hand of 
genius2 and decorated in the            
preposterous finery of courtly          
affectation1 puzzle the sense4 ,i do not
 think with ,david 7the celebrated      
,french painter7 that they ought to be  
burnt1 but he has himself got possession
 of their old places in the ,luxembourg1
 and perhaps he is tolerably satisfied  
with this arrangement4 ,a landscape with
 a rainbow by ,rubens 7a rich and       
dazzling piece of colouring7 that used  
to occupy a recess half-way down the    
,louvre1 was removed to the opposite    
side4 ,the singular picture 7the ,defeat
 of ,goliath1 by ,daniel ,volterra17    
painted on both sides on slate1 still   
retained its station in the middle of   
the room4 ,it had hung there for twenty 
years unmolested4 ,the ,rembrandts keep 
their old places1 and are as fine as    
ever1 with their rich enamel1 their     
thick lumps of colour1 their startling  
gloom1 and bold execution--their        
ear-rings1 their gold-chains1 and       

fur-collars1 on which one is disposed to
 lay furtive hands1 so much have they   
the look of wealth and substantial use6 
,the ,vandykes are more light and airy  
than ever4 ,there is a whole heap of    
them2 and among the rest that charming  
portrait of an ,english lady with a     
little child 7as fine and true a        
compliment as was ever paid to the      
,english female character17 sustained by
 sweetness and dignity1 but with a      
mother's anxious thoughts passing       
slightly across her serene brow4 ,the   
,cardinal ,bentivoglio 7which ,i        
remember procuring especial permission  
to copy1 and left untouched1 because1   
after ,titian's portraits1 there was a  
want of interest in ,vandyke's which ,i 
could not get over17 is not there4#af   
,but in the ,dutch division1 ,i found   
,weenix's game1 the battle-pieces of    
,wouvermans1 and ,ruysdael's sparkling  
woods and waterfalls without number4 ,on
 these 7,i recollect as if it were      
yesterday7 ,i used1 after a hard day's  

work1 and having tasked my faculties to 
the utmost1 to cast a mingled glance of 
surprise and pleasure1 as the light     
gleamed upon them through the high      
casement1 and to take leave of them with
 a non equidem invideo1 miror magis4    
,in the third or ,italian division of   
the ,gallery1 there is a profusion of   
,albanos1 with ,cupids and naked        
,nymphs1 which are quite in the old     
,french taste4 ,they are certainly very 
pleasing compositions1 but from the     
change produced by time1 the figures    
shew like beauty-spots on a dark ground4
 ,how inferior is he to ,guido1 the     
painter of grace and sentiment1 two of  
whose master-pieces enchanted me anew1  
the ,annunciation and the ,presentation 
in the ,temple4 ,in each of these there 
is a tenderness1 a delicacy of          
expression like the purest affection1   
and every attitude and turn of a limb is
 conscious elegance and voluptuous      
refinement4 ,the pictures1 the mind of  
the painter1 are instinct and imbued    

with beauty4 ,it is worth while to have 
lived to have produced works like these1
 or even to have seen and felt their    
power6 ,painting of old was a language  
which its disciples used not merely to  
denote certain objects1 but to unfold   
their hidden meaning1 and to convey the 
finest movements of the soul into the   
limbs or features of the face4 ,they    
looked at nature with a feeling of      
passion1 with an eye to expression2 and 
this it was that1 while they sought for 
outward forms to communicate their      
feelings1 moulded them into truth and   
beauty1 and that surrounds them with an 
atmosphere of thought and sentiment4 ,to
 admire a fine old picture is itself an 
act of devotion1 and as we gaze1 we turn
 idolaters4 ,the moderns are chiefly    
intent on giving certain lines and      
colours1 the mask or material face of   
painting1 and leave out the immortal    
part of it4 ,thus a modern ,exhibition  
,room 7whether ,french or ,english7 has 
a great deal of shew and glitter1 and a 

smell of paint in it4 ,in the ,louvre we
 are thrown back into the presence of   
our own best thoughts and feelings1 the 
highest acts and emanations of the mind 
of man breathe from the walls1 shadowy  
tears and sighs there keep vigils1 and  
the air within it is divine6  ,the ideal
 is no less observable in the portraits 
than in the histories here4 ,look at the
 portrait of a man in black1 by ,titian 
7,no4 #abaj74 ,there is a tongue in that
 eye1 a brain beneath that forehead4 ,it
 is still2 but the hand seems to have   
been just placed on its side2 it does   
not turn its head1 but it looks towards 
you to ask1 whether you recognise it or 
not8 ,it was there to meet me1 after an 
interval of years1 as if ,i had parted  
with it the instant before4 ,its keen1  
steadfast glance staggered me like a    
blow4 ,it was the same--how was ,i      
altered6 ,i pressed towards it1 as it   
were1 to throw off a load of doubt from 
the mind1 or as having burst through the
 obstacles of time and distance that had

 held me in torturing suspense4 ,i do   
not know whether this is not the most   
striking picture in the room--the least 
common-place4 ,there may be other       
pictures more delightful to look at2 but
 this seems1 like the eye of the        
,collection1 to be looking at you and   
them4 ,one might be tempted to go up and
 speak to it6 ,the allegorical portrait 
of the ,marchioness of ,guasto is still 
here1 transparent with tenderness and   
beauty--,titian's ,mistress1 that shines
 like a crystal mirror--the ,entombing  
of ,christ1 solemn1 harmonious as the   
coming on of evening--the ,disciples at 
,emmaus--and the ,crowning with ,thorns1
 the blood here and there seeming ready 
to start through the flesh-colour1 which
 even ,english artists have not known   
enough how to admire4 ,the ,young ,man's
 ,head1 with a glove that used so much  
to delight1 ,i confess1 disappointed me1
 and ,i am convinced must have been     
painted upon4 ,there are other ,titians1
 and a number of ,raphaels--the ,head of

 a ,student muffled in thought--his own 
delightful ,head 7leaning on its hand7  
redolent of youthful genius1 and several
 small ,holy ,families1 full of the     
highest spirit and unction4 ,there are  
also the three ,marys with the ,dead    
,body of ,christ1 by ,l4 ,caracci2 the  
,salutation by ,sebastian del ,piombo2  
the noble ,hunting-piece1 by ,annibal   
,caracci2 the fine ,landscapes of       
,domenichino 7that in particular of the 
story of ,hercules and ,achelous1 with  
the trunk of a tree left in the bed of a
 mountain-torrent72 and a host besides1 
#8thick as the autumnal leaves that     
strew the brooks in ,vallombrosa1' and  
of the same colour6 ,there are so many  
of these select and favourite pictures  
left1 that one does not all at once feel
 the loss of others which are more      
common in prints and in the mouth of    
fame2 and the absence of which may be   
considered as almost an advantage for a 
first recognition and revival of old    
associations4 ,but afterwards we find a 

want of larger pictures to answer to the
 magnitude of the ,collection1 and to   
sustain the balance of taste between the
 ,italian and the other schools4 ,we    
have here as fine ,claudes and ,poussins
 as any in the world1 but not as fine   
,raphaels1 ,correggios1 ,domenichinos1  
as there are elsewhere1--as were once   
here4 ,there are wanting1 to make the   
gallery complete1 six or eight capital  
pictures1 the ,transfiguration1 the ,st4
 ,peter ,martyr1 c42 and among others   
7not already mentioned17 the ,altarpiece
 of ,st4 ,mark1 by ,tintoret1 and ,paul 
,veronese's ,marriage at ,cana4 ,with   
these it had been perfect1 #8founded as 
the rock1 as broad and general as the   
casing air2' without these it is        
#8coop'd and cabin'd in by saucy doubts 
and fears4' ,the largest ,collection in 
the world ought to be colossal1 not only
 in itself1 but in its component parts4 
,the ,louvre is a quarter of a mile in  
length1 and equal 7as it is7 to ,mr4    
,angerstein's1 the ,marquess of         

,stafford's1 the ,dulwich ,gallery1 and 
,blenheim put together4 ,it was once    
more than equal to them in every        
circumstance to inspire genius or       
console reflection4 ,we still see the   
palace of the ,thuilleries from the     
windows1 with the white flag waving over
 it3 but we look in vain for the ,brazen
 ,horses on its gates1 or him who placed
 them there1 or the pale bands of       
warriors that conquered in the name of  
liberty and of their country6           
,,chapter ,v   ,the gravity of the      
,french character is a no less          
remarkable 7though a less obvious7      
feature in it than its levity4 ,the last
 is the quality that strikes us most by 
contrast to ourselves1 and that comes   
most into play in the intercourse of    
common life2 and therefore we are       
generally disposed to set them down as  
an altogether frivolous and superficial 
people4 ,it is a mistake which we shall 
do well to correct on farther           
acquaintance with them2 or if we persist

 in it1 we must call to our aid an      
extraordinary degree of our native      
blindness and obstinacy4 ,we ought never
 to visit their ,theatres1 to walk along
 their streets1 to enter their houses1  
to look in their faces 7when they do not
 think themselves observed17 to open    
their books1 or take a view of their    
picture-galleries4 ,sterne seems to have
 been the first1 as well as last        
traveller1 who found out their weak side
 in this respect4 #8,if the ,french have
 a fault1 ,monsieur le ,comte1' says he1
 #8it is that they are too serious4'    
,this contradiction in their character  
has been little noticed1 and they have  
never had the credit of it1 though it   
stares one in the face everywhere4 ,how 
we are to piece the two extremes        
together is another question4 ,is it    
that their whole character is a system  
of inconsequentiality8 ,or are they gay 
and trifling in serious matters1 serious
 only in trifles8 ,or are their minds   
more of the cameleon-cast1 that reflects

 all objects alike1 whether grave or    
gay1 and give themselves up entirely1   
and without resistance1 to the          
prevailing impulse8 ,or is it owing to a
 want of comprehension1 so that they are
 incapable of correcting one feeling by 
another1 and thus run into extremes8 ,or
 that they have a greater scope and     
variety of resources1 excelling us as   
much in gravity as in want of thought1  
outdoing us in tragedy and comedy1 as   
they betake themselves to each1 in the  
poetical or in the prosaic departments  
of life1 only that they sometimes make a
 transposition of the two characters a  
little oddly1 and pass from the one to  
the other without our well knowing why8 
,i have been frequently puzzled with    
this exception to the butterfly1 airy1  
thoughtless1 fluttering character of the
 ,french 7on which we compliment        
ourselves17 and never more so than the  
first night ,i went to the theatre4 ,the
 order1 the attention1 the decorum were 
such as would shame any ,london         

audience4 ,the attention was more like  
that of a learned society to a lecture  
on some scientific subject1 than of a   
promiscuous crowd collected together    
merely for amusement1 and to pass away  
an idle hour4 ,there was a professional 
air1 an unvarying gravity in the looks  
and demeanour of the whole assembled    
multitude1 as if every one had an       
immediate interest in the character of  
the national poetry1 in the purity of   
the ,french accent1 in the propriety of 
the declamation1 in the conceptions of  
the actor1 and the developement of the  
story1 instead of its presenting a mob  
of idle boys and girls1 of ignorant     
gaping citizens1 or supercilious        
box-lobby loungers1 affecting a contempt
 for the performance1 and for every one 
around them4 ,the least noise or        
irregularity called forth the most      
instant and lively disapprobation2 and  
the vivacity of the ,french character   
displayed itself to advantage in earnest
 gesticulations and expressions of      

impatience4 ,not only was the strictest 
silence observed1 as soon as the curtain
 drew up1 but no one moved or attempted 
to move4 ,the spell thrown over the     
customary or supposed restlessness and  
volatility of the ,french was in this   
respect complete4 ,the uniformity of the
 appearance was indeed almost           
ridiculous2 for the rows of heads in the
 seats of the pit no more stirred or    
projected the breadth of a finger beyond
 the line1 than those of a regiment of  
recruits on parade1 or than if a soldier
 were stationed to keep each chin in its
 place4 ,they may be reduced to the     
state of automatons2 but there were no  
traces of the monkey character left4#ag 
,if the performance had been at ,court1 
greater propriety could not have been   
maintained2 but it was a ,french play   
7one of ,racine's7 and acted before a   
,parisian audience3 this seemed to be   
enough to ensure it a proper reception4 
,one would suppose1 from their interest 
in dramatic representations1 that the   

,french were a nation of actors4        
,perhaps it may be asked1 #8,is not that
 the case8 and is it not their vanity1  
their own desire to shine1 or their     
sympathy with whatever or whoever is a  
candidate for applause1 that accounts   
for their behaviour8' ,at least1 their  
vanity makes them grave2 and if it is   
this which rivets their attention1 and  
silences their eternal loquacity1 it    
must be allowed to produce effects which
 others would do well to imitate from   
better motives1 if they have them6#ah   
,the play was not much2 but there seemed
 to be an abstract interest felt in the 
stage as such1 in the sound of the      
verse1 in the measured step of the      
actors1 in the recurrence of the same   
pauses1 and of the same ideas2 in the   
correctness of the costume1 in the very 
notion of the endeavour after           
excellence1 and in the creation of an   
artificial and imaginary medium of      
thought4 ,if the ,french are more       
susceptible of immediate1 sensible      

impressions1 it would appear1 judging   
from their behaviour at their own       
theatres1 that they are also more       
sensible of reflex and refined ones4    
,the bare suggestion of an interesting  
topic is to them interesting3 it may be 
said1 on the most distant intimation1 to
 excite the most lively concern1 and to 
collect their scattered spirits into a  
focus4 ,their sensibility takes the     
alarm more easily2 their understanding  
is quicker of hearing4 ,with them1 to   
the sublime or pathetic there is but one
 step--the name2 the moment the subject 
is started1 they #8jump at' the         
catastrophe and all the consequences4   
,we are slow1 and must have a thing made
 out to us in striking instances1 and by
 successive blows4 ,we are sluggish1 and
 must be lifted up to the heights of a  
factitious enthusiasm by the complicated
 machinery of a powerful imagination3 we
 are obstinate1 not to say selfish1 and 
require to be urged over the abyss of   
mental anguish by the utmost violence of

 terror and pity4 ,but with the ,french1
 all this is a matter of course1 a      
verbal process4 ,tears1 as well as      
smiles1 cost them less than they do us4 
,words are more nearly allied to things 
in their minds2 the one have a more     
vital being1 though it does not follow  
that the other are altogether empty and 
barren of interest4 ,but the ,french    
seem 7in their dramatic exhibitions7 not
 to wish to get beyond1 or 7shall ,i    
speak it more plainly87 to have no      
faculty for getting beyond the abstract 
conception1 the naked proposition of the
 subject4 ,they are a people 7,i repeat 
it7 void and bare of the faculty of     
imagination1 if by this we mean the     
power of placing things in the most     
novel and striking point of view2 and   
they are so for this reason1 that they  
have no need of it4 ,it is to them a    
superfluity--a thankless toil4 ,their   
quick1 discursive apprehension runs on  
before1 and anticipates and defeats the 
efforts of the highest poetry4 ,they are

 contented to indulge in all the agony  
or ecstacy of sounding and significant  
common-places4 ,the words charming1     
delicious1 indescribable1 c4 excite the 
same lively emotions in their minds as  
the most vivid representations of what  
is said to be so2 and hence verbiage and
 the cant of sentiment fill the place1  
and stop the road to genius--a vague1   
flaccid1 enervated rhetoric being too   
often substituted for the pith and      
marrow of truth and nature4 ,the        
greatest facility to feel or to         
comprehend will not produce the most    
intense passion1 or the most electrical 
expression of it4 ,there must be a      
resistance in the matter to do this--a  
collision1 an obstacle to overcome4 ,the
 torrent rushes with fury from being    
impeded in its course3 the lightning    
splits the gnarled oak4 ,there is no    
malice in this statement2 but ,i should 
think they may themselves allow it to be
 an ,english version of the truth1      
containing a great deal that is         

favourable to them1 with a saving clause
 for our own use4 ,the long 7and to us  
tiresome7 speeches in ,french tragedy   
consist of a string of emphatic and     
well-balanced lines1 announcing general 
maxims and indefinite sentiments        
applicable to human life4 ,the poet     
seldom commits any excesses by giving   
way to his own imagination1 or          
identifying himself with individual     
situations and sufferings4 ,we are not  
now raised to the height of passion1 now
 plunged into its lowest depths2 the    
whole finds its level1 like water1 in   
the liquid1 yielding susceptibility of  
the ,french character1 and in the       
unembarrassed scope of the ,french      
intellect4 ,the finest line in ,racine1 
that is1 in ,french poetry1 is by common
 consent understood to be the           
following3--          ,craignez ,dieu1  
mon cher ,abner1 et ne craignez que     
,dieu4  ,that is1 ,fear ,god1 my dear   
,abner1 and fear only him4 ,a pious and 
just exhortation1 it is true2 but1 when 

this is referred to as the highest point
 of elevation to which their dramatic   
genius has aspired1 though we may not be
 warranted in condemning their whole    
region of poetry as a barren waste1 we  
may consider it as very nearly a level  
plain1 and assert1 that though the soil 
contains mines of useful truths within  
its bosom and glitters with the graces  
of a polished style1 it does not abound 
in picturesque points of view or        
romantic interest6 ,it is certain that a
 thousand such lines would have no      
effect upon an ,english audience but to 
set them to sleep1 like a sermon1 or to 
make them commence a disturbance to     
avoid it4 ,yet1 though the declamation  
of the ,french stage is as monotonous as
 the dialogue1 the ,french listen to it 
with the tears in their eyes1 holding in
 their breath1 beating time to the      
cadence of the verse1 and following the 
actors with a book in their hands for   
hours together4 ,the ,english most      
assuredly do not pay the same attention 

to a play of ,shakspeare's1 or to any   
thing but a cock-fight or a             
sparring-match4 ,this is no great       
compliment to them2 but it makes for the
 gravity of the ,french1 who have       
mistaken didactic for dramatic poetry1  
who can sit out a play with the greatest
 patience and complacency1 that an      
,englishman would hoot off the stage1 or
 yawn over from beginning to end for its
 want of striking images and lively     
effect1 and with whom ,saturn is a ,god 
no less than ,mercury6 ,i am inclined to
 suspect the genius of their religion   
may have something to do with the genius
 of their poetry4 ,the first absorbs in 
a manner their powers of imagination1   
their love of the romantic and the      
marvellous1 and leaves the last in      
possession of their sober reason and    
moral sense4 ,their churches are        
theatres2 their theatres are like       
churches4 ,their fancies are satiated   
with the mummeries and pageantry of the 
,catholic faith1 with hieroglyphic      

obscurity and quaint devices2 and1 when 
they come to the tangible ground of     
human affairs1 they are willing to      
repose alike from ornament and          
extravagance1 in plain language and     
intelligible ideas4 ,they go to mass in 
the morning to dazzle their senses1 and 
bewilder their imagination1 and inflame 
their enthusiasm2 and they resort to the
 theatre in the evening to seek relief  
from superstitious intoxication in the  
prose of poetry1 and from ,gothic       
mysteries and gloom1 in classic elegance
 and costume4 ,be this as it may1 the   
love of the ,french for ,racine is not a
 feeling of the moment1 or left behind  
them at the theatres2 they can quote him
 by heart1 and his sententious1         
admirable lines occupy the next place in
 their minds to their amatory poetry4   
,there is nothing unpleasant in a       
,french theatre but a certain infusion  
of soup-maigre into the composition of  
the air1 7so that one inhales a kind of 
thin pottage17 and an oily dinginess in 

the complexions both of the men and     
women1 which shews more by lamp-light4  
,it is not true 7as has been said7 that 
their theatres are nearly dark1 or that 
the men stand in the pit4 ,it is true1  
none but men are admitted into it1 but  
they have seats just the same as with   
us1 and a curious custom of securing    
their places when they go out1 by       
binding their handkerchiefs round them1 
so that at the end of the play the      
benches presented nothing but a row of  
knotted pocket handkerchiefs4 ,almost   
every one returned and sat out the      
entertainment1 which was not a farce1   
but a sentimental comedy1 and a very    
charming one too1 founded on the        
somewhat national subject of a seduction
 by an ,english nobleman in ,france1 and
 in which the fair sufferer was         
represented by a young debutante1 in    
natural expression and pathos little    
inferior to ,miss ,kelly1 7as far as we 
can translate ,french into ,english     
nature17 but fatter and prettier4 ,so   

much for their taste in theatricals1    
which does not incline wholly to        
puppet-shows and gew-gaws4 ,the         
,theatre1 in short1 is the ,throne of   
the ,french character1 where it is      
mounted on its pedestal of pride1 and   
seen to every advantage4 ,i like to     
contemplate it there1 for it reconciles 
me to them and to myself4 ,it is a      
common and amicable ground on which we  
meet4 ,their tears are such as others   
shed--their interest in what happened   
three thousand years ago is not         
exclusively ,french4 ,they are no longer
 a distinct race or caste1 but human    
beings4 ,to feel towards others as of a 
different species1 is not the way to    
increase our respect for ourselves or   
human nature4 ,their defects and        
peculiarities1 we may be almost sure1   
have corresponding opposite vices in    
us--the excellences are confined pretty 
much to what there is in common4  ,the  
ordinary prejudice entertained on this  
subject in ,england is1 that the ,french

 are little better than grown children--
               #8,pleas'd with a        
feather--tickled with a straw--'  full  
of grimace and noise and shew1 lively   
and pert1 but with no turn or capacity  
for serious thought or continued        
attention of any kind1 and hardly       
deserving the name of rational beings1  
any more than apes or jackdaws4 ,they   
may laugh and talk more than the        
,english2 but they read1 and1 ,i        
suspect1 think more1 taking them as a   
people4 ,you see an apple-girl in       
,paris1 sitting at a stall with her feet
 over a stove in the coldest weather1 or
 defended from the sun by an umbrella1  
reading ,racine or ,voltaire4 ,who ever 
saw such a thing in ,london as a        
barrow-woman reading ,shakspeare or     
,fielding8 ,you see a handsome1 smart   
grisette at the back of every little    
shop or counter in ,paris1 if she is not
 at work1 reading perhaps one of        
,marmontel's ,tales1 with all the       
absorption and delicate interest of a   

heroine of romance4 ,yet we make doleful
 complaints of the want of education    
among the common people1 and of the want
 of reflection in the female character  
in ,france4 ,there is something of the  
same turn for reading in ,scotland2 but 
then where is the gaiety or the grace8  
,they are more sour and formal even than
 the ,english4 ,the book-stalls all over
 ,paris present a very delightful       
appearance4 ,they contain neatly-bound1 
cheap1 and portable editions of all     
their standard authors1 which of itself 
refutes the charge of a want of the     
knowledge or taste for books4 ,the      
,french read with avidity whenever they 
can snatch the opportunity4 ,they read  
standing in the open air1 into which    
they are driven by the want of air at   
home4 ,they read in garrets and in      
cellars4 ,they read at one end of a     
counter1 when a person is hammering a   
lock or a piece of cabinet-work at the  
other1 without taking their eye from the
 book1 or picking a quarrel with the    

person who is making the noise4 ,society
 is the school of education in ,france2 
there is a transparency in their        
intellects as in their atmosphere1 which
 makes the communication of thought or  
sound more rapid and general4 ,the      
farina of knowledge floats in the air1  
and circulates at random4 ,alas6 it     
#8quickens1 even with blowing4' ,a      
periwig-maker is an orator2 a fish-woman
 is a moralist2 a woman of fashion is a 
metaphysician1 armed with all the       
topics2 a pretty woman in ,paris1 who   
was not also a blue-stocking1 would make
 little figure in the circles4 ,it would
 be in vain for her to know how to      
dispose a knot of ribands or a bunch of 
flowers in her hair1 unless she could   
arrange a critical and analytical       
argument in all the forms4 ,it is       
nothing against her1 if she excels in   
personal and mental accomplishments at  
the same time4 ,this turn for literary  
or scientific topics in the women may   
indeed be accounted for in part from the

 modes of social intercourse in ,france2
 but what does this very circumstance   
prove1 but that an interchange of ideas 
is considered as one great charm in the 
society between men and women1 and that 
the thirst of knowledge is not banished 
by a grosser passion8 ,knowledge and    
reason1 however1 descend2 and where the 
women are philosophers1 the men are not 
quite block-heads or petit-maitres4     
,they are far from being the ignorant   
smatterers that we pretend4 ,they are   
not backward at asking for reasons1 nor 
slow in giving them4 ,they have a theory
 for every thing1 even for vice and     
folly4 ,their faces again are grave and 
serious when they are by themselves1 as 
they are gay and animated in society4   
,their eyes have a vacant1 absent stare2
 their features set or lengthen all at  
once into #8the melancholy of           
,moorditch4' ,the ,conducteur of the    
,diligence from ,rouen confirmed me     
agreeably in my theory of the           
philosophical character of the ,french  

physiognomy4 ,with large grey eyes and  
drooping eye-lids1 prominent distended  
nostrils1 a fine ,fenelon expression of 
countenance1 and a mouth open and       
eloquent1 with furrowed lines twisted   
round it like whip-cord1 he stood on the
 steps of the coach1 and harangued to   
the gentlemen within on the btise of    
some voyageur ,anglois with the air of a
 professor1 and in a deep sonorous      
voice1 worthy of an oration of ,bossuet4
 ,i should like to hear a ,yorkshire    
guard1 with his bluff1 red face1 bristly
 bullet head1 little peering eyes1 round
 shoulders1 and squeaking voice1 ascend 
into an imaginary rostrum in this       
manner1 wave a florid speculation in one
 hand1 and hold fast by the coach-door  
with the other1 or get beyond an oath1 a
 hearty curse1 or his shrewd country    
gibberish6 ,the face of the ,french     
soldiery is a face of great humanity--it
 is manly1 sedate1 thoughtful--it is    
equally free from fierceness and        
stupidity2 and it seems to bear in its  

eye defeat and victory1 the eagle and   
the lilies6 ,i cannot help adding here1 
that a ,french gentleman 7un ,rentier7  
who lodges in the hotel opposite to me1 
passes his time in reading all the      
morning1 dines1 plays with his children 
after dinner1 and takes a hand at       
backgammon with an old gouvernante in   
the evening4 ,he does not figure away   
with a couple of horses in the streets  
like our ,english jockeys 7who really   
are nothing without a footman behind    
them17 nor does his wife plague his life
 out to run after all the new sights4   
,and yet they are from the country4     
,this looks like domestic comfort and   
internal resources4 ,how many disciples 
of ,rousseau's ,emilius are there in    
,france at the present day8 ,i knew one 
twenty years ago4  ,the ,french are a   
people who practise the arts and        
sciences naturally4 ,a shoe-black is the
 artiste du jour 7artist of the day17   
and a rat-catcher approaches you under  
some insidious nom de guerre4 ,every    

thing is with them imposing1 grave1     
important4 #8,except 7it may be said7   
what really is so2' and it may be       
insinuated1 that all their pretensions  
are equally idly mockery and grimace4   
,look1 then1 at their works of science  
and of art--the one the most            
comprehensive and exact1 the other the  
most laborious and finished in the      
world4 ,what are their chemists1 their  
astronomers1 their naturalists1 their   
painters1 their sculptors8 ,if not the  
greatest and most inventive geniuses1   
the most accurate compilers1 and the    
most severe students in their several   
departments4 ,la ,place1 ,lavoisier1    
,cuvier1 ,david1 ,houdon1 are not       
triflers or pretenders4 ,in science1 if 
we have discovered the principles1 they 
have gone more into the details--in art 
we accuse them of being over-laboured1  
and of finishing too minutely and       
mechanically2 and they charge us 7justly
 enough7 with a want of finesse1 and    
with producing little more than rude    

sketches and abortive caricatures4      
,their frigid1 anatomical               
inquiries--their studies after the      
antique1 and acquaintance with all the  
professional and scientific branches of 
their art1 are notorious--and the care  
with which they work up their draperies 
and back-grounds is obvious to every    
one1 and a standing subject of complaint
 and ridicule to ,english artists and   
critics4 ,their refinement in art1 ,i   
confess1 consists chiefly in an         
attention to rules and details1 but then
 it does imply an attention to these1   
which is contrary to our idea of the    
flighty ,french character4 ,i remember1 
some years ago1 a young ,french artist  
in the ,louvre1 who was making a        
chalk-drawing of a small ,virgin and    
,child1 by ,leonardo da ,vinci1 and he  
took eleven weeks to complete it1       
sitting with his legs astride over a    
railing1 looking up and talking to those
 about him--consulting their opinion as 
to his unwearied imperceptible          

progress--going to the fire to warm his 
hands1 and returning to perfectionate   
himself6 ,there was a good deal of      
#8laborious foolery' in all this1 but   
still he kept on with it1 and did not   
fly to fifty things one after the other4
 ,another student had undertaken to copy
 the ,titian's ,mistress1 and the method
 he took to do it was to parcel out his 
canvass into squares like an engraver2  
after which he began very deliberately1 
not with the face or hair1 but with the 
first square in the right-hand corner of
 the picture1 containing a piece of an  
old table4 ,he did not care where he    
began1 so that he went through the whole
 regularly4 ,c'est gal1 is the common   
reply in all such cases4 ,this          
continuity of purpose1 without any great
 effort or deep interest1 surprises an  
,englishman4 ,we can do nothing without 
a strong motive1 and without violent    
exertion4 ,but it is this very          
circumstance probably that enables them 
to proceed3 they take the matter quite  

easily1 and have not the same load of   
anxious thought to bear up against1 nor 
the same impatient eagerness to reach   
perfection at a single stride1 to stop  
them midway4 ,they have not the ,english
 air hanging at their backs1 like the   
,old ,man of the ,sea at ,sinbad's6 ,the
 same freedom from any thing like morbid
 humour assists them to plod on like the
 ,dutch from mere phlegm1 or to diverge 
into a variety of pursuits1 which is    
still more natural to them4 ,horace     
,vernet has in the present ,exhibition a
 portrait of a lady1 7a rival to ,sir   
,t4 ,lawrence's7 and close to it1 a     
battle-piece1 equal to ,ward or ,cooper4
 ,who would not be a ,parisian born1 to 
attain excellence with the wish to      
succeed from mere confidence or         
indifference to success1 to unite such a
 number of accomplishments1 or be       
equally satisfied without a single one6 
,the ,english are over-hasty in         
supposing a certain lightness and       
petulance of manner in the ,french to be

 incompatible with sterling thought or  
steady application1 and flatter         
themselves that not to be merry is to be
 wise4 ,a ,french lady who had married  
an ,englishman remarkable for his       
dullness1 used to apologise for his     
silence in company by incessantly       
repeating #8,c'est toujours ,locke1     
toujours ,newton1' as if these were the 
subjects that occupied his thoughts4 ,it
 is well we have these names to appeal  
to in all cases of emergency2 and as far
 as mere gravity is concerned1 let these
 celebrated persons have been as wise as
 they would1 they could not for the life
 of them have appeared duller or more   
stupid than the generality of their     
countrymen4 ,the chief advantage ,i can 
find in the ,english over the ,french   
comes to this1 that though slower1 if   
they once take a thing up1 they are     
longer in laying it down1 provided it is
 a grievance or a sore subject4 ,the    
reason is1 that the ,french do not      
delight in grievances or in sore        

subjects2 and that the ,english delight 
in nothing else1 and battle their way   
through them most manfully4 ,their forte
 is the disagreeable and repulsive4 ,i  
think they would have fought the battle 
of ,waterloo over again6 ,the ,english1 
besides being #8good haters1' are dogged
 and downright1 and have no salvos for  
their self-love4 ,their vanity does not 
heal the wounds made in their pride4    
,the ,french1 on the contrary1 are soon 
reconciled to fate1 and so enamoured of 
their own idea1 that nothing can put    
them out of conceit with it4 ,whatever  
their attachment to their country1 to   
liberty or glory1 they are not so       
affected by the loss of these as to make
 any desperate effort or sacrifice to   
recover them4 ,their continuity of      
feeling is such1 as to be no enemy to a 
whole skin4 ,they over-ran ,europe like 
tigers1 and defended their own territory
 like deer4 ,they are a nation of       
heroes--on this side of martyrdom6      
,,chapter ,,vi   ,,dialogue1 ,,french   

,,and ,,english  ,french4--,have you    
seen the whole of our ,exposition of the
 present year8--  ,english4--,no1 but ,i
 have looked over a good part of it4 ,i 
have been much pleased with many of the 
pictures4 ,as far as ,i can judge1 or   
have a right to say so1 ,i think your   
artists have improved within these few  
years4  ,french4--,perhaps so1          
occasionally1 but we have not ,david and
 some others4  ,english4--,i cannot say 
that ,i miss him much4 ,he had1 ,i dare 
say1 many excellences1 but his faults   
were still more glaring1 according to   
our insular notions of the art4 ,have   
you ,guerin now8 ,he had just brought   
out his first picture of ,phdra and     
,hippolitus when ,i was in ,paris       
formerly4 ,it made a prodigious         
sensation at the time1 and very great   
things were expected from him4          
,french4--,no1 his works are not much   
spoken of4  ,english4--,the ,hippolitus 
in the picture ,i speak of was very     
beautiful2 but the whole appeared too   

much cast in the mould of the antique1  
and it struck me then that there was a  
mannerism about it that did not augur   
favourably for his future progress1 but 
denoted a premature perfection4 ,what ,i
 like in your present ,exhibition is1   
that you seem in a great measure to have
 left this academic manner1 and to have 
adopted a more natural style4           
,french4--,i do not exactly comprehend4 
,english4--,why1 you know the ,english  
complain of ,french art as too laboured 
and mechanical1 as not allowing scope   
enough for genius and originality1 as   
you retort upon us for being coarse and 
rustic4  ,french4--,ah6 ,i understand4  
,there is a picture in the ,english     
style2 the subject is a ,greek massacre1
 by ,rouget4 ,it is an bauche4 ,it is   
for effect4 ,there is much spirit in the
 expression1 and a boldness of          
execution1 but every part is not        
finished4 ,it is like a first sketch1 or
 like the painting of the scenes at our 
theatres4 ,he has another picture here4 

,english4--,yes1 of great merit in the  
same style of dashing1 off-hand1        
explosive effect4 ,he is something      
between our ,ward and ,haydon4 ,but that
 is not what ,i mean4 ,i do not wish you
 to exchange your vices for ours4 ,we   
are not as yet models in the ,,fine     
,,arts4 ,i am only glad that you imitate
 us1 as it is a sign you begin to feel a
 certain deficiency in yourselves4      
,there is no necessity for grossness and
 extravagance1 any more than for being  
finical or pedantic4 ,now there is a    
picture yonder1 which ,i think has      
broken through the trammels of the      
modern ,french school1 without          
forfeiting its just pretensions to      
classical history4 ,it has the name of  
,drlling on it4 ,what1 pray1 is the     
subject of it8  ,french4--,it is        
,ulysses conducting ,polyxena to the    
sacrifice4 ,he has one much better at   
the ,luxembourg4  ,english4--,i don't   
know2 ,i have not seen that1 but this   
picture appears to me to be a very      

favourable specimen of the present      
,french school4 ,it has great force1    
considerable beauty1 symmetry of form1  
and expression2 and it is animated      
flesh1 not coloured stone4 ,the action  
and gestures into which the figures     
throw themselves1 seem the result of    
life and feeling1 and not of putting    
casts after the antique into ,opera     
attitudes4  ,french4--,we do not think  
much of that picture4 ,it has not been  
perfected4  ,english4--,perhaps it      
passes a certain conventional limit1 and
 is borne away by the impulse of the    
subject2 and of that the most eminent   
among the ,french artists might be      
thought to be as much afraid as the old 
lady at ,court was that her face would  
fall in pieces1 if her features relaxed 
into a smile4 ,the ,ulysses is poor and 
stiff3 the nurse might be finer2 but ,i 
like the faces of the two foremost      
figures much2 they are handsome1        
interesting1 and the whole female group 
is alive and in motion4  ,french4--,what

 do you think of the picture by ,gerard1
 ,no4 #gde1 of the ,meeting between     
,louis ,,xiv4 and the ,spanish          
,ambassador8 ,it is greatly admired     
here4  ,english4--,it appeared to me 7as
 ,i passed it just now7 to be a picture 
of great bustle and spirit2 and it looks
 as if ,iris had dipped her woof in it1 
the dresses are so gay and fine4        
,really1 the show of variegated colours 
in the principal group is like a bed of 
tulips4 ,that is certainly a capitally  
painted head of a priest stooping       
forward in a red cap and mantle4        
,french4--,and the youth near him no    
less4  ,english4--,the complexion has   
too much the texture of fruit4          
,french4--,but for the composition--the 
contrast between youth and age is so    
justly marked4 ,are you not struck with 
the figure of the ,spanish ,ambassador8 
,his black silk drapery is quite in the 
,italian style4  ,english4--,i thought  
,gerard had been chiefly admired for a  
certain delicacy of expression1 more    

than for his colouring or costume4 ,he  
was a favourite painter of the ,empress 
,josephine4  ,french4--,but in the      
present subject there is not much scope 
for expression4  ,english4--,it is very 
true2 but in a picture of the same      
crowded and courtly character 7,the last
 ,moments of ,henry ,,iv417 the painter 
has contrived to introduce a great deal 
of beauty and tenderness of expression  
in the appearance of some of the        
youthful attendants4 ,this is a more    
shewy and finely painted drawing-room   
picture2 but that appears to me to have 
more character in it4 ,it has also the  
merit of being finished with great care4
 ,i think the ,french excel in small    
histories of the domestic or ornamental 
kind4 ,here1 for instance1 is a very    
pretty picture by ,madame ,hersent1     
#hig1 ,louis ,,xiv4 taking leave of his 
,grand-child4 ,it is well painted1 the  
dresses are rich and correct--the       
monarch has a great deal of negligent   
dignity mixed with the feebleness of    

age1 the contrast of innocence and      
freshness in the child is well-managed1 
and the attendants are decayed beauties 
and very confidential-looking persons of
 that period4 ,one great charm of all   
historical subjects is1 to carry us back
 to the scene and time1 which this      
picture does4 ,probably from the ,age   
and ,court of ,louis ,,xviii4 to that of
 ,louis ,,xiv4 it is not far for a      
,french imagination to transport itself4
  ,french4--,monsieur1 it is so far that
 we should never have got from the one  
to the other1 if you had not helped us4 
,english4--,so much the worse6 ,but do  
you not think that a clever picture of  
the ,interior of a ,gothic ,ruin1 #bdg1 
7,bouton4#ai7 ,it seems to me as if the 
artist had been reading ,sir ,walter    
,scott4 ,that lofty1 ruinous cave looks 
out on the wintry sea from one of the   
,shetland ,isles4 ,there is a cold1     
desolate look of horror pervading it to 
the utmost extremity4 ,but the finishing
 is1 perhaps1 somewhat too exact for so 

wild a scene4 ,has not the snow1 lodged 
on the broken ledges of the rocks1 a    
little of the appearance of the coat of 
candied sugar on a twelfth-cake8 ,but   
how comes the dog in possession of so   
smart a kennel8 ,it is said in the      
,catalogue1 that by his barking he      
alarms his master1 who saves the poor   
woman and her infant from perishing4    
,who would have thought that such a     
scene as this had a master8             
,french4--,dogs are necessary everywhere
 in ,france3 there is no place that we  
can keep them out of4 ,they are like the
 machines in ancient poetry--a part of  
every plot4 ,poodles are the true dsirs3
 they have ousted even the priests4     
,they may soon set up a hierarchy of    
their own4 ,they swarm1 and are as      
filthy as an ,egyptian religion4        
,english4--,but this is a house-dog1 not
 a lap-dog4  ,french4--,there is no     
saying--but pass on4 ,is there any other
 picture that you like8                 
,english4--,yes1 ,i am much pleased with

 the one opposite1 the ,marriage of the 
,virgin1 #bfh1 by ,mons4 ,caminade4 ,it 
is both elegant and natural4 ,the       
,virgin kneels in a simple and          
expressive attitude2 in the children    
there is a playful and healthy aspect1  
and the grouping is quite like a classic
 bas-relief4 ,perhaps1 in this respect1 
it wants depth4 ,can you tell me1 why   
,french painting so much affects the    
qualities of sculpture in               
general1--flatness and formality in the 
groups1 and hardness of outline in the  
single figures8  ,french4--,i cannot    
answer that question1 as it is some time
 since ,i left ,england1 where ,i       
remained only ten months to perfect     
myself in the language4 ,you probably   
think more highly of the next picture3  
,the ,establishment of the ,enfans      
,trouvs1 by ,m----8  ,english4--,i am   
afraid not2 for it has the old ,french  
flimsiness and flutter4 ,the face of the
 ,foundress resembles a shower of       
roseate tints4 ,you may be sure1        

however1 that the ,english in general   
will approve mightily of it1 who like   
all subjects of charitable institutions4
 ,i heard an ,english lady just now in  
raptures with the naked children seated 
on the blankets1 calling them           
affectionately1 #8poor little dears6'   
,we like subjects of want1 because they 
afford a relief to our own sense of     
comfortlessness1 and subjects of        
benevolence1 because they soothe our    
sense of self-importance--a feeling of  
which we stand greatly in need4         
,french4--,what is your opinion of the  
portrait of ,louis ,,xviii41 by ,gerard8
  ,english4--,it seems to have been     
painted after dinner1 and as if his     
,majesty was uneasy in his seat--the    
boots might have been spared4           
,french4--,we have a picture by one of  
your compatriots--the ,chevalier        
,lawrence--  ,english4--,yes1 the       
portrait of a ,lady1 in the next room4  
,it was accounted one of the best       
portraits in our ,somerset-house        

,exhibition last summer4  ,french4--,but
 there is a portrait of a ,french ,lady1
 placed as a companion to it1 by ,horace
 ,vernet1 which is thought better4      
,english4--,i have no doubt4 ,but ,i    
believe1 in ,england1 the preference    
would be given the contrary way4        
,french4--,may ,i ask on what ground1   
,sir8  ,english4--,let me ask1 did you  
ever happen to sit to have a cast of    
your head taken8 ,because ,i conceive   
that precisely the same heated1 smooth1 
oily1 close1 stifling feeling that one's
 face has just before the mask is taken 
off1 is that which is conveyed by the   
texture and look of a finished ,french  
portrait1 generally speaking1 and by    
this in particular4 ,i like the ,head of
 a ,lady1 by ,guerin 7#hch71 on the     
opposite side of the room1 better4 ,it  
is clear1 cold1 blue and white1 with an 
airy attitude1 and firm drawing4 ,there 
is no attempt to smother one with dingy 
flesh rouged over4  ,french4--,but have 
you seen our miniatures8 ,the ,english  

miniatures1 ,i imagine1 are not good4   
,english4--,at least1 we have a good    
many of them4 ,i know an ,english       
critic1 who would at least count you up 
thirty eminent ,english                 
miniature-painters at a breath1--all    
first-rate geniuses2 so differently do  
we view these things on different sides 
of the ,channel6 ,in truth1 all         
miniatures must be much alike4 ,there   
can be no such thing as an ,english     
miniature1 that is1 as a coarse1        
slovenly daub in little4 ,we finish when
 we cannot help it4 ,we do not volunteer
 a host of graces1 like you2 but we can 
make a virtue of necessity4 ,there was a
 ,mr4 ,hayter1 who painted resplendent  
miniatures1 perfect mirrors of the      
highest heaven of beauty2 but he        
preferred the ,english liberty of       
sign-post painting in oil4 ,i observe   
among your miniatures several enamels   
and copies from the ,old ,masters in the
 ,louvre4 ,has not the coming to them   
the effect of looking through a window8 

,what a breadth1 what a clearness1 what 
a solidity8 ,how do you account for this
 superiority8 ,i do not say this        
invidiously1 for ,i confess it is the   
same1 whenever copies are introduced by 
stealth in our ,english ,exhibition4    
,french4--,i perceive1 ,sir1 you have a 
prejudice in favour of the ,english     
style of art4  ,english4--,none at all2 
but ,i cannot think our faults any      
justification of yours1 or yours of     
ours4 ,for instance1 here is a landscape
 by a countryman of mine1 ,mr4          
,constable 7,no4 #ceh74 ,why then all   
this affectation of dashing lights and  
broken tints and straggling lumps of    
paint1 which ,i dare say give the       
horrors to a consummate ,french artist8 
,on the other hand1 why do not your     
artists try to give something of the    
same green1 fresh1 and healthy look of  
living nature1 without smearing coats of
 varnish over raw dabs of colour 7as we 
do71 till the composition resembles the 
ice breaking up in marshy ground after a

 frosty morning8 ,depend upon it1 in    
disputes about taste1 as in other       
quarrels1 there are faults on both      
sides4  ,french4--,the ,english style   
has effect1 but it is gross4            
,english4--,true3 yet in the inner rooms
 there are some water-colour landscapes1
 by ,copley ,fielding1 which strike me  
as uniting effect with delicacy1        
particularly ,no4 #cfj1 with some       
beautiful trees fringing the            
fore-ground4 ,i think our painters do   
best when they are cramped in the       
vehicle they employ4 ,they are abusers  
of oil-colours4  ,french4--,i recollect 
the name2 but his works did not seem to 
me to be finished4  ,english4--,they are
 finished as nature is finished3 that   
is1 the details are to be found in them1
 though they do not obtrude themselves4 
,you ,french require every thing to be  
made out like pin's points or botanic   
specimens of leaves and trees4 ,your    
histories want life1 and your landscapes
 air4 ,i could have sworn the little    

fishing-piece 7,no4 --7 was ,english4   
,it is such a daub1 and yet has such a  
feeling of out-of-door scenery in it4   
,french4--,you do not flatter us4 ,but  
you allow our excellence in sculpture4  
,english4--,there is an admirable study 
of a little girl going into a bath1 by  
,jacquot4 ,it is so simple1 true1 and   
expressive1 ,i thought it might be      
,chantry's4 ,i cannot say ,i saw any    
others that pleased me4 ,the ,eurydice1 
by ,nantreuil1 is a ,french ,eurydice4  
,it is an elegantly-formed female1      
affecting trifling airs and graces in   
the agonies of death4 ,suppose we return
 to the pictures in the ,green ,room4   
,there is nothing very remarkable here1 
except the portrait of an artist by     
himself1 which looks for all the world  
as if it fed upon its own white lead4   
,french4--,do like the figure of a woman
 in one corner in the ,massacre of the  
,innocents8 ,the artist has done all he 
could to propitiate the ,english taste4 
,he has left his work in a sufficiently 

barbarous and unfinished state4         
,english4--,but he has taken pains to   
throw expression1 originality1 and      
breadth into it4 ,with us it would be   
considered as a work of genius4 ,i      
prefer it much to any thing by our      
artists of the same kind1 both for the  
tone1 the wild lofty character1 and the 
unctuous freedom of the pencilling4     
,there is a strange hurly-burly in the  
background1 and a lurid tone over the   
whole picture4 ,this is what we mean by 
imagination--giving the feeling that    
there is in nature4 ,you mean by        
imagination the giving something out of 
it--such as the ,nymph 7,no4 --7        
appearing to the ,river ,god4 ,the young
 lady is a very charming transparency1  
or gauze-drawing2 and the ,river ,god is
 a sturdy wooden statue1 painted over2  
but ,i would ask you1 is there any thing
 in the picture that takes you beyond a 
milliner's shop in the ,palais-royal1 or
 a tea-garden in the neighbourhood of   
,st4 ,cloud8 ,the subject of ,locusta   

poisoning a young slave1 by ,figalon1   
is1 ,i think1 forcibly and well treated4
 ,the old sorceress is not an every day 
person4 ,the ,french too seldom resort  
to the grace of ,deformity4 ,yet how    
finely it tells6 ,they are more timid   
and fastidious than the ancients1 whom  
they profess to imitate4 ,there is one  
other large historical composition in   
the room which ,i am partial to2 and yet
 the faces1 the manners1 the colouring1 
every thing in it is ,french4 ,it is the
 ,henry the ,fourth pardoning the       
peasants who have supplied the besieged 
in ,paris with food4 ,that head of a    
young woman near the middle is          
particularly fine1 and in the happiest  
style of ,french art4 ,its effect       
against the sky is picturesque2 it is   
handsome1 graceful1 sensitive1 and      
tinged with an agreeable florid hue4    
,french4--,but what is your opinion of  
,horace ,vernet's ,battle-piece8        
,english4--,may ,i ask the subject8     
,french4--,it is the battle of          

,mont-,mirail1 after the return from    
,russia4  ,english4--,good3 ,i was sadly
 afraid it was the ,battle of ,mont ,st4
 ,jean4 ,we ought to blot it forever    
from our history1 if we have been1 or   
intend to be1 free4 ,but ,i did not know
 but some ,frenchman might be found to  
stain his canvass with it1 and present  
it to ,m4 le ,vicomte ,chateaubriand4   
,french4--,but ,i speak of the painting1
 ,sir4  ,english4--,it is something in  
the same style1 but hardly so clever as 
the picture of the ,queen's ,trial1 by  
,hayter4 ,did you see that when you were
 in ,london8  ,french4--,no1 ,sir4      
,english4--,then we cannot enter into   
the comparison4  ,french4--,that is     
true4  ,english4--,we never had a school
 of painting till the present day4      
,whether we have one at present1 will be
 seen in the course of the winter4      
,yours flourished one hundred and fifty 
years ago4 ,for1 not to include         
,nicholas ,poussin and ,claude ,lorraine
 in it1 7names that belong to time and  

nature17 there were ,philip ,champagne1 
,jouvenet1 ,le ,sueur1 whose works are  
surely unequalled by the present race of
 artists1 in colouring1 in conception of
 the subject1 in the imitation of       
nature1 and in picturesque effect4 ,as a
 proof of it1 they become their places1 
and look well in the ,louvre4 ,a picture
 of ,david's would be an eye-sore there4
 ,you are familiar with their works8    
,french4--,i have seen those masters1   
but there is an objection to passing    
into that part of the ,louvre4          
,english4--,the air is1 ,i own1         
different4                              
,,chapter ,,vii   ,,the ,,luxembourg    
,,gallery  ,racine's poetry1 and        
,shakspeare's1 however wide apart1 do   
not absolutely prove that the ,french   
and ,english are a distinct race of     
beings1 who can never properly          
understand one another4 ,but the        
,luxembourg ,gallery1 ,i think1 settles 
this point forever--not in our favour1  
for we have nothing 7thank ,god7 to     

oppose to it1 but decidedly against     
them1 as a people incapable of any thing
 but the little1 the affected1 and      
extravagant in works of imagination and 
the ,,fine ,,arts4 ,poetry is but the   
language of feeling1 and we may convey  
the same meaning in a different form of 
words4 ,but in the language of painting1
 words become things2 and we cannot be  
mistaken in the character of a nation1  
that1 in thus expressing themselves1    
uniformly leave out certain elements of 
feeling1 and greedily and ostentatiously
 insert others that they should not4    
,the ,english have properly no school of
 art1 7though they have one painter at  
least equal to ,molire17--we have here  
either done nothing worth speaking of1  
compared with our progress in other     
things1 or our faults are those of      
negligence and rusticity4 ,but the      
,french have done their utmost to attain
 perfection1 and they boast of having   
attained it4 ,what they have done is1   
therefore1 a fair specimen of what they 

can do4 ,their works contain undoubted  
proofs of labour1 learning1 power2 yet  
they are only the worse for all these1  
since1 without a thorough knowledge of  
the scientific and mechanical part of   
their profession1 as well as profound   
study1 they never could have            
immortalized their want of taste and    
genius in the manner they have done4    
,their pictures at the ,luxembourg are  
#8those faultless monsters which the art
 ne'er saw' till now--the #8hand-writing
 on the wall1' which nothing can        
reverse4 ,it has been said1 that #8,vice
 to be hated needs but to be seen1' and 
the same rule holds good in natural as  
in moral deformity4 ,it is a pity that  
some kind hand does not take an         
opportunity of giving to ashes this     
monument of their glory and their shame1
 but that it is important to preserve   
the proofs of such an anomaly in the    
history of the human mind as a          
generation of artists painting in this  
manner1 and looking down upon the rest  

of the world as not even able to        
appreciate their paramount superiority  
in refinement and elegance4 ,it is true1
 strangers know not what to make of     
them4 ,the ignorant look at them with   
wonder--the more judicious1 with pain   
and astonishment at the perversion of   
talents and industry4 ,still1 they      
themselves go on1 quoting one another's 
works1 and parcelling out the           
excellences of the several pictures     
under different heads--pour les coloris1
 pour le dessein1 pour la composition1  
pour l'expression1 as if all the world  
were of accord on this subject1 and     
,raphael had never been heard of4 ,it is
 enough to stagger a nation1 as well as 
an individual1 in their admiration of   
their own accomplishments1 when they    
find they have it all to themselves2 but
 the ,french are blind1 insensible1     
incorrigible to the least hint of any   
thing like imperfection or absurdity4   
,it is this want of self-knowledge1 and 
incapacity to conceive of any thing     

beyond a certain conventional circle1   
that is the original sin--the incurable 
error of all their works of imagination4
 ,if ,nature were a ,french courtezan or
 ,opera-dancer1 their poetry and        
painting would be the finest in the     
world4#bj  ,the fault1 then1 that ,i    
should find with this ,collection of    
,pictures is1 that it is equally        
defective in the imitation of nature1   
which belongs to painting in general2 or
 in giving the soul of                  
nature-expression1 which belongs more   
particularly to history-painting4 ,their
 style of art is false from beginning to
 end1 nor is it redeemed even by the    
vices of genius1 originality1 and       
splendour of appearance4 ,it is at once 
tame and extravagant1 laboured and      
without effect1 repulsive to the senses 
and cold to the heart4 ,nor can it well 
be otherwise4 ,it sets out on a wrong   
principle1 and the farther it goes1 nay1
 the more completely it succeeds in what
 it undertakes1 the more inanimate1     

abortive1 and unsatisfactory must be the
 performance4 ,french painting1 in a    
word1 is not to be considered as an     
independent art1 or original language1  
coming immediately from nature1 and     
appealing to it--it is a bad translation
 of sculpture into a language           
essentially incompatible with it4 ,the  
,french artists take plaster-casts from 
the antique1 and colour them by a       
receipt2 they take plaster-casts and put
 them into action1 and give expression  
to the features according to the        
traditional rules for composition and   
expression4 ,this is the invariable     
process3 we see the infallible results1 
which differ only according to the      
patience1 the boldness1 and ingenuity of
 the painter in departing from nature1  
and caricaturing his subject4  ,for     
instance1 let us take the ,endymion of  
,girodet1 ,no #eg4 ,it is a well-drawn1 
though somewhat effeminate              
,academy-figure4 ,all the rest is what  
,i have said4 ,it is a waste of labour1 

an abuse of power4 ,there is no repose  
in the attitude2 but the body1 instead  
of being dissolved in an immortal sleep1
 seems half lifted up1 so as to produce 
a balance of form1 and to make a display
 of the symmetry of the proportions4    
,vanity here presides even over sleep4  
,the head is turned on one side as if it
 had not belonged to the body 7which it 
probably did not7 and discovers a       
meagre1 insignificant profile1 hard and 
pinched up1 without any of the genial   
glow of youth1 or the calm1 delighted   
expansion of the heavenly dream that    
hovered so long over it4 ,the sharp     
edges of the features1 like rims of tin1
 catch the moonlight1 but do not reflect
 the benign aspect of the ,goddess6     
,there is no feeling 7not a particle7 of
 the poetry of the subject4 ,then the   
colouring is not natural1 is not        
beautiful1 is not delicate1 but that of 
a livid body1 glittering in the         
moon-beams1 or with a cloud of          
steel-filings1 glimmering round it for a

 veil of light4 ,it is not left as      
dead-colouring in an evidently          
unfinished state1 or so as to make a    
blank for the imagination to fill up 7as
 we see in ,fuseli's pictures72 but     
every part is worked up with malicious  
industry1 not to represent flesh1 but to
 be as like marble or polished steel as 
possible4 ,there is no variety of tint1 
no reflected light1 no massing1 but     
merely the difference that is produced  
in a smooth and uniformly coloured      
surface1 by the alterations proper to   
sculpture1 which are given with a       
painful and oppressive sense of effort  
and of difficulty overcome4  ,this is   
not a natural style4 ,it is foppish and 
mechanical2 or just what might be       
expected from taking a piece of stone   
and attempting to colour it1 not from   
nature1 not from imagination or feeling1
 but from a mere wilful determination to
 supply the impressions of one sense    
from those of another1 by dint of       
perseverance and a growing conceit of   

one's-self4 ,there is1 indeed1 a        
progress to perfection2 for by the time 
the work is finished1 it is a finished  
piece of arrogance and folly4 ,if you   
are copying a yellow colour1 and you    
resolve to make it blue1 the more blue  
you make it1 the more perfectly you     
succeed in your purpose2 but it is the  
less like yellow4 ,so the more perfectly
 ,french a work of art is1 the less it  
is like nature6 ,the ,french artists    
have imitated the presumption of the    
tyrant ,mezentius1 who wished to link   
dead bodies to living ones4--,again1 in 
the same artist's picture of ,atala at  
the ,tomb 7which ,i think his best1 and 
which would make a fine bas-relief#ba7  
the outline of the countenance of ,atala
 is really noble1 with a beautiful      
expression of calm resignation2 and the 
only fault to be found with it is1 that1
 supported as the head is in the arms of
 the ,priest1 it has too much the look  
of a bust after the antique1 that we see
 carried about the streets by the       

,italian plaster-cast-makers4           
,otherwise1 it is a classical and       
felicitous stroke of ,french genius4    
,they do well to paint ,sleep1 ,death1  
,night1 or to approach as near as they  
can to the verge of still-life1 and     
leaden-eyed obscurity6 ,but what1 ,i    
believe1 is regarded as the master-piece
 of this artist1 and what ,i have no    
objection to consider as the triumph of 
,french sublimity and pathos1 is his    
picture of the ,deluge1 ,no4 #ee4 ,the  
national talent has here broken loose   
from the trammels of refinement and     
pedantry1 and soars unconstrained to its
 native regions of extravagance and     
bombast4 ,the ,english are willing to   
abide by this as a test4 ,if there be in
 the whole of this gigantic picture of a
 gigantic subject any thing but         
distortion1 meanness1 extreme absurdity 
and brute force1 we are altogether      
mistaken in our notions of the matter4  
,was it not enough to place that huge1  
unsightly skeleton of old age upon the  

shoulders of the son1 who is climbing a 
tottering1 overhanging precipice1 but   
the farce of imposture and improbability
 must be systematically kept up by      
having the wife clinging to him in all  
the agony of the most preposterous      
theatrical affectation1 and then the two
 children dangling to her like the      
fag-end of horror1 and completing the   
chain of disgusting1 because            
impracticable and monstrous distress8   
,quod sic mihi ostendis1 incredulus odi4
 ,the principle of gravitation must be  
at an end1 to make this picture         
endurable for a moment4 ,all the effect 
depends on the fear of falling1 and yet 
the figures could not remain suspended  
where they are for a single instant 7but
 must be flung #8with hideous ruin and  
combustion down1'7 if they were any     
thing else but grisly phantoms4 ,the    
terror is at once physical and          
preternatural4 ,instead of death-like   
stillness or desperate fortitude1       
preparing for inevitable fate1 or       

hurrying from it with panic-fear at some
 uncertain opening1 they have set       
themselves in a picturesque situation1  
to meet it under every disadvantage1    
playing off their antics like a family  
of tumblers at a fair1 and exhibiting   
the horrid grimaces1 the vulgar rage1   
cowardice1 and impatience of the most   
wretched actors on a stage4 ,the painter
 has1 no doubt1 #8accumulated horror on 
horror's head1' in straining the        
credulity or harrowing up the feelings  
of the spectator to the utmost1 and     
proving his want of conception no less  
by the exaggeration1 than his want of   
invention by the monotony of his design4
 ,real strength knows where to stop1    
because it is founded on truth and      
nature2 but extravagance and affectation
 have no bounds4 ,they rush into the    
vacuum of thought and feeling1 and      
commit every sort of outrage and        
excess4#bb ,neither in the landscape is 
there a more historic conception than in
 the actors on the scene4 ,there is none

 of the keeping or unity that so        
remarkably characterizes ,poussin's fine
 picture of the same subject1 nor the   
sense of sullen1 gradually coming fate4 
,the waters do not rise slowly and      
heavily to the tops of the highest      
peaks1 but dash tumultuously and        
violently down rocks and precipices4    
,this is not the truth of the history1  
but it accords with the genius of the   
composition4 ,i should think the painter
 might have received some hints from ,m4
 ,chateaubriand for the conduct of it4  
,it is in his frothy1 fantastic1        
rhodomontade way--#8,it out-herods      
,herod6'  ,david's pictures1 after this1
 are tame and trite in the comparison2  
they are not romantic or revolutionary1 
but they are completely ,french2 they   
are in a little1 finical manner1 without
 beauty1 grandeur1 or effect4 ,he has   
precision of outline and accuracy of    
costume2 but how small a part is this of
 high history6 ,in a scene like that of 
the ,oath of the ,horatii1 or the ,pass 

of ,thermopyl1 who would think of       
remarking the turn of an ancle1 or the  
disposition of a piece of drapery1 or   
the ornaments of a shield8 ,yet one is  
quite at leisure to do this in looking  
at the pictures1 without having one's   
thoughts called off by other and nobler 
interests4 ,the attempts at expression  
are meagre and constrained1 and the     
attitudes affected and theatrical4      
,there is1 however1 a unity of design   
and an interlacing of shields and limbs1
 which seems to express one soul in the 
,horatii1 to which considerable praise  
would be due1 if they had more the look 
of heroes1 and less that of             
petit-maitres4 ,i do not wonder ,david  
does not like ,rubens1 for he has none  
of the ,fleming's bold1 sweeping        
outline4 ,he finishes the details very  
prettily and skilfully1 but has no idea 
of giving magnitude or motion to the    
whole4 ,his stern ,romans and fierce    
,sabines look like young gentlemen      
brought up at a dancing or fencing      

school1 and taking lessons in these     
several elegant exercises4 ,what a      
fellow has he made of ,romulus1 standing
 in the act to strike with all the air  
of a modern dandy6 ,the women are in    
attitudes1 and contribute to the        
eloquence of the scene4 ,here is a wife1
 7as we learn from the ,catalogue7 there
 a sister1 here a mistress1 there a     
grandmother with three infants4 ,thus   
are the episodes made out by a          
genealogical table of the relations of  
human life6 ,such is the nature of      
,french genius and invention1 that they 
can never get out of leading-strings6   
,the figure of ,brutus1 in the picture  
of that subject1 has a fine1 manly1     
unaffected character4 ,it has shrunk on 
one side to brood over its act1 without 
any strut or philosophic ostentation1   
which was much to be dreaded4 ,he is    
wrapt in gloomy thought1 as in a mantle4
 ,mr4 ,kean might have sat for this     
figure1 for1 in truth1 it is every way  
like him4 ,the group of women on the    

opposite side of the canvass1 making a  
contrast by their lively colours and    
flimsy expression of grief1 might have  
been spared4 ,these pictures have1 as we
 were told1 been objected to for their  
too great display of the naked figure1  
in some instances bordering on          
indecency4 ,the indecency 7if so it is7 
is not in the nakedness of the figures1 
but in the barrenness of the artist's   
resources to clothe them with other     
attributes1 and with genius as with a   
garment4 ,if their souls had been laid  
bare as well as their limbs1 their      
spirits would have shone through and    
concealed any outward deformity4 ,nobody
 complains of ,michael ,angelo's figures
 as wanting severity and decorum4       
,guerin's ,phdra and ,hippolitus ,i have
 already treated of1 and ,i see no      
reason to alter my opinion4 ,it was just
 painted when ,i last saw it1 and has   
lost some of its freshness and the gloss
 of novelty4 ,modern pictures have the  
art of very soon becoming old4 ,what    

remains of it has the merit of very     
clever studies after the antique1       
arranged into a subject4 ,the rest is   
not worth speaking of4 ,a set of        
school-boys might as well come with     
their portfolios and chalk-drawings     
under their arms1 and set up for a      
school of ,fine ,art4 ,a great nation   
ought to know better1 and either strike 
out something original for others to    
imitate1 or acknowledge that they have  
done nothing worthy of themselves4 ,to  
arch an eye-brow1 or to point a finger1 
is not to paint history4 ,the study of  
nature can alone form the genuine       
artist4 ,any thing but this can only    
produce counterfeits4 ,the tones and    
colours that feed the eye with beauty1  
the effects of light and shade1 the soul
 speaking in the eyes or gasping on the 
lips1 the groups that varying passion   
blends1 these are the means by which    
nature reveals herself to the inspired  
gaze of genius1 and that1 treasured up  
and stamped by labour and study on the  

canvass1 are the indispensable materials
 of historical composition4 ,to take    
plaster-casts and add colour to them by 
an act of the will2 or to take the same 
brittle1 inanimate1 inflexible models1  
and put life and motion into them by    
mechanical and learned rules1 is more   
than ,prometheus or ,iris could pretend 
to do4 ,it is too much for ,french      
genius to achieve4 ,to put a statue into
 motion1 or to give appropriate1        
natural1 and powerful expression to set 
features of any kind1 is at all times   
difficult2 but1 in the present instance1
 the difficulty is enhanced1 till it    
amounts to a sort of contradiction in   
terms2 for it is proposed to engraft    
,french character and expression 7the   
only ones with which the artists are    
acquainted1 or to which they can have   
access as living studies7 on ,greek     
forms and features4 ,two things more    
abhorrent in nature exist not4 ,one of  
two consequences necessarily happens3   
either the original model is given      

literally and entire1 without any       
attempt to disguise the awkward         
plagiarism1 and inform it with a new    
character2 or if the artist1 disdaining 
such servile trammels1 strives to infuse
 his own conceptions of grace and       
grandeur into it1 then the hero or ,god 
of antiquity comes down from his        
pedestal to strut a ,french             
dancing-master or tragedian4 ,for       
simplicity and unexampled grace1 we have
 impertinence and affectation2 for stoic
 gravity and majestic suffering1 we have
 impatience1 rage1 womanish hysterics1  
and the utmost violence of frenzied     
distortion4 ,french art 7like all other 
national art7 is either nothing1 or a   
transcript of the national character4   
,in the neas and ,dido1 of the same     
artist1 the drawing1 the costume1 the   
ornaments1 are correct and classical2   
the toilette of the picture is well     
made2 the neas is not much more insipid 
than the hero of ,virgil1 and there is  
an exceedingly pretty girl1 7like a     

common ,french peasant girl17 a supposed
 attendant on the ,queen4 ,the only part
 of the picture in which he has         
attempted an extraordinary effect1 and  
in which he has totally failed1 is in   
the expression of enamoured attention on
 the part of the ,queen4 ,her eyes do   
not1 #8like stars1 shoot madly from     
their spheres1' but they seem to have no
 sort of business in her head1 and make 
the doucereuse in a most edifying       
manner4 ,you are attracted to the face  
at a distance by the beauty of the      
outline 7which is ,greek7 and instantly 
repelled by the grossness of the filling
 up of the expression 7which is         
,french74 ,the ,clytemnestra is1 ,i     
think1 his chef d'uvre4 ,she is a noble 
figure1 beautiful in person1 and deadly 
of purpose2 and there is that kind of   
breathless suppression of feeling1 and  
noiseless moving on to her end1 which   
the rigid style of ,french art is not   
ill-adapted to convey4 ,but there is a  
strange tone of colouring thrown over   

the picture1 which gives it the         
appearance of figures done in stained   
porcelain1 or of an optical deception4  
,there is nothing to remind you that the
 actors of the scene are of flesh and   
blood4 ,they may be of steel or bronze1 
or glazed earthenware1 or any other     
smooth1 unfeeling substance4 ,this hard1
 liny1 metallic1 tangible character is  
one of the great discriminating features
 of ,french painting1 which arises      
partly from their habitual mode of      
study1 partly from the want of an eye   
for nature1 but chiefly1 ,i think1 from 
their craving after precise and definite
 ideas1 in which1 if there is the least 
flaw or inflection1 their formal        
apprehension loses sight of them        
altogether1 and cannot recover the clue4
 ,this incrusted1 impenetrable1 stifling
 appearance is not only unpleasant to   
the eye1 but repels sympathy1 and       
renders their pictures 7what they have  
been asserted to be7 negations equally  
of the essential qualities both of      

painting and sculpture4  ,of their want 
of ideal passion1 or of the poetry of   
painting1 and tendency to turn every    
thing either into comic or tragic       
pantomime1 the picture of ,cain after   
the ,murder of ,abel1 by ,paul ,guerin1 
is a striking example4 ,this composition
 does not want power4 ,it would be      
disingenuous to say so4 ,the artist has 
done what he meant in it4 ,what1 then1  
has he expressed8 ,the rage of a wild   
beast1 or of a maniac gnashing his      
teeth1 and rushing headlong down a      
precipice to give vent to a momentary   
frenzy2 not the fixed inward anguish of 
a man1 withered by the curse of his     
,maker1 and driven out into the wide    
universe with despair and solitude and  
unavailing remorse for his portion4 ,the
 face of his wife1 who appears crouched 
behind him1 possesses great beauty and  
sweetness4 ,but the sweetness and beauty
 are kept quite distinct4 ,that is1     
grief absorbs some of the features1     
while others retain all their softness  

and serenity4 ,this hypercriticism would
 not have been possible1 if the painter 
had studied the expression of grief in  
nature4 ,but he took a plaster-model1   
and tried to melt it into becoming woe6 
,i have said enough to explain my       
objections to the grand style of ,french
 art2 and ,i am sure ,i do not wish to  
pursue so unpleasant a subject any      
farther4 ,i only wish to hint to my     
countrymen some excuse for not admiring 
these pictures1 and to satisfy their    
neighbours that our want of enthusiasm  
is not wholly owing to barbarism and    
blindness to merit4 ,it may be asked    
then1 #8,is there nothing to praise in  
this collection8' ,far from it4 ,there  
are many things excellent and admirable1
 with the drawbacks already stated1 and 
some others that are free from them4    
,there is ,le ,thiere's picture of the  
,judgment of ,brutus2 a manly1 solid1   
and powerful composition1 which was     
exhibited some years ago in ,london1 and
 is1 ,i think1 decidedly superior to any

 of our ,west's4 ,in ,horace ,vernet's  
,massacre of the ,mamelukes1 no ,english
 critic will deny the expression of     
gloomy ferocity in the countenance of   
the ,sultan1 or refuse to extol the     
painting of the drapery of the ,negro1  
with his back to the spectator1 which   
is1 perhaps1 equal to any thing of the  
,venetian ,school1 and done 7for a      
wager7 from real drapery4 ,is not #8the 
human face divine' as well worth        
studying in the original as the dyes and
 texture of a tunic8 ,a small picture1  
by ,delacroix1 taken from the ,inferno1 
,virgil and ,dante in the boat1 is truly
 picturesque in the composition and the 
effect1 and shews a real eye for ,rubens
 and for nature4 ,the forms project1 the
 colours are thrown into masses4        
,gerard's ,cupid and ,psyche is a       
beautiful little picture1 and is indeed 
as beautiful1 both in composition and   
expression1 as any thing of the kind can
 well be imagined2 ,i mean1 that it is  
done in its essential principles as a   

design from or for sculpture4 ,the      
productions of the ,french school make  
better prints than pictures4 ,yet the   
best of them look like engravings from  
antique groups or cameos4#bc ,there is  
also a set of small pictures by ,ducis1 
explaining the effects of ,love on the  
study of ,painting1 ,sculpture1 and     
,poetry1 taken from appropriate         
subjects1 and elegantly executed4 ,here 
,french art appears in its natural      
character again1 courtly and polished1  
and is proportionably attractive4       
,perhaps it had better lay aside the    
club of ,hercules1 and take up the      
distaff of ,omphale2 and then the women 
might fairly beat the men out of the    
field1 as they threaten almost to do at 
present4 ,the ,french excel in pieces of
 light gallantry and domestic humour1 as
 the ,english do in interiors and       
pig-styes4 ,this appears to me the      
comparative merit and real bias of the  
two nations1 in what relates to the     
productions of the pencil2 but both will

 scorn the compliment1 and one of them  
may write over the doors of their       
,academies of ,art--#8,magnis excidit   
ausis4' ,the other cannot even say so   
much4                                   
,,chapter ,,viii   ,,national           
,,antipathies  ,the prejudice we        
entertain against foreigners is not in  
the first instance owing to any ill-will
 we bear them1 so much as to the        
untractableness of the imagination1     
which cannot admit two standards of     
moral value according to circumstances1 
but is puzzled by the diversity of      
manners and character it observes1 and  
made uneasy in its estimate of the      
propriety and excellence of its own4 ,it
 seems that others ought to conform to  
our way of thinking1 or we to theirs2   
and as neither party is inclined to give
 up their peculiarities1 we cut the knot
 by hating those who remind us of them4 
,we get rid of any idle1 half-formed1   
teazing1 irksome sense of obligation to 
sympathise with or meet foreigners half 

way1 by making the breach as wide as    
possible1 and treating them as an       
inferior species of beings to ourselves4
 ,we become enemies1 because we cannot  
be friends4 ,our self-love is annoyed by
 whatever creates a suspicion of our    
being in the wrong2 and only recovers   
its level by setting down all those who 
differ from us as thoroughly odious and 
contemptible4  ,it is this consideration
 which makes the good qualities of other
 nations1 in which they excel us1 no    
set-off to their bad ones1 in which they
 fall short of us2 nay1 we can forgive  
the last much sooner than the first4    
,the ,french being a dirty people is a  
complaint we very often bring against   
them4 ,this objection alone1 however1   
would give us very little disturbance2  
we might make a wry face1 an            
exclamation1 and laugh it off4 ,but when
 we find that they are lively1          
agreeable1 and good-humoured in spite of
 their dirt1 we then know not what to   
make of it4 ,we are angry at seeing them

 enjoy themselves in circumstances in   
which we should feel so uncomfortable2  
we are baulked of the advantage we had  
promised ourselves over them1 and make  
up for the disappointment by despising  
them heartily1 as a people callous and  
insensible to every thing like common   
decency4 ,in reading ,captain ,parry's  
account of the ,esquimaux ,indian woman1
 who so dexterously trimmed his lamp by 
licking up half the train-oil1 and      
smearing her face and fingers all over  
with the grease1 we barely smile at this
 trait of barbarism4 ,it does not       
provoke a serious thought2 for it does  
not stagger us in our opinion of        
ourselves4 ,but should a fine ,parisian 
lady do the same thing 7or something    
like it7 in the midst of an eloquent    
harangue on the infinite superiority of 
the ,french in delicacy and refinement1 
we should hardly restrain our           
astonishment at the mixture of          
incorrigible grossness and vanity4      
,unable to answer her arguments1 we     

should begin to hate her person3 her    
gaiety and wit1 which had probably      
delighted us before1 would be changed   
into forwardness1 flippancy1 and        
impertinence2 from seeing it united with
 so many accomplishments1 we should be  
led to doubt whether sluttishness was   
not a virtue1 and should remove the     
doubt out of court by indulging a       
feeling of private resentment1 and      
resorting to some epithet of national   
abuse4 ,the mind wishes to pass an act  
of uniformity for all its judgments3 in 
defiance of every day's experience1 it  
will have things of a piece1 and where  
it cannot have every thing right or its 
own way1 is determined to have it all   
wrong4  ,a ,frenchman1 we will say1     
drops what we think a frivolous remark1 
which excites in us some slight degree  
of impatience3 presently after1 he makes
 a shrewd1 sensible observation4 ,this  
rather aggravates the mischief1 than    
mends it2 for it throws us out in our   
calculations1 and confounds the         

distinction between sense and nonsense  
in our minds4 ,a volley of unmeaning    
declamation or frothy impertinence      
causes us less chagrin than a single    
word that overturns some assertion we   
had made1 or puts us under the necessity
 of reversing1 or imposes on us the     
still more unwelcome task of revising   
our conclusions4 ,it is easy in this    
case to save ourselves the trouble by   
calling our antagonist knave or fool2   
and the temptation is too strong1 when  
we have a whole host of national        
prejudices at our back to justify us in 
so concise and satisfactory a mode of   
reasoning4 ,a greater fund of vivacity  
and agreeable qualities in our          
neighbours is not sure to excite simple 
gratitude or admiration2 it much oftener
 excites envy1 and we are uneasy till we
 have quieted the sense of our          
deficiency by construing the liveliness 
of temper or invention1 with which we   
cannot keep pace1 into an excess of     
levity1 and the continued flow of animal

 spirits into a species of intoxication 
or insanity4 ,because the ,french are   
animated and full of gesticulation1 they
 are a theatrical people2 if they smile 
and are polite1 they are like           
monkeys--an idea an ,englishman never   
has out of his head1 and it is well if  
he can keep it between his lips4#bd ,no 
one assuredly would appear dull and     
awkward1 who can help it4 ,many an      
,english belle1 who figures at home in  
the first circles of fashion and is     
admired for her airy1 thoughtless       
volubility1 is struck dumb1 and looks a 
mere dowdy 7as if it were a voluntary or
 assumed transformation of character7   
the moment she sets foot on ,french     
ground2 and the whispered sounds1 lourde
 or elle n'est pas spirituelle1         
lingering in her ears1 will not induce  
her to dissuade her husband 7if he is a 
,lord or ,member of ,parliament7 from   
voting for a ,french war1 and are       
answered by the thunders of our cannon  
on the ,french coast6 ,we even quarrel  

with the beauty of ,french women1       
because it is not ,english4 ,if their   
features are regular1 we find fault with
 their complexions2 and as to their     
expression1 we grow tired of that       
eternal smile upon their faces2 though  
their teeth are white1 why should they  
be always shewing them8 ,their eyes have
 an unpleasant glitter about them2 and  
their eye-brows1 which are frequently   
black and arched1 are painted and put   
on6 ,in short1 no individual1 no nation 
is liked by another for the advantages  
it possesses over it in wit or wisdom1  
in happiness or virtue4 ,we despise     
others for their inferiority1 we hate   
them for their superiority2 and ,i see  
no likelihood of an accommodation at    
this rate4 ,the ,english go abroad2 and 
when they come back1 they brood over the
 civilities or the insults they have    
received with equal discontent4 ,the    
gaiety of the ,continent has thrown an  
additional damp upon their native air1  
and they wish to clear it by setting    

fire to a foreign town or blowing up a  
foreign citadel4 ,we are then easy and  
comfortable for a while4 ,we think we   
can do something1 that is1 violence and 
wrong2 and should others talk of        
retaliating1 we say with ,lord          
,bathurst1 #8,let them come6--our       
fingers tingling for the fray1 and      
finding that nothing rouses us from our 
habitual stupor like hard blows4        
,defeated in the arts of peace1 we get  
in good humour with ourselves by trying 
those of war4 ,ashamed to accost a lady1
 we dare face a bastion--without spirit 
to hold up our heads1 we are too        
obstinate to turn our backs--and give   
ourselves credit for being the greatest 
nation in the world1 because our ,jack  
,tars 7who defend the wooden walls of   
,old ,england--the same that we         
afterwards see with sore arms and wooden
 legs1 begging and bawling about our    
streets7 are the greatest blackguards on
 the face of the globe2 because our     
,life ,guardsmen1 who have no brains to 

lose1 are willing to have them knocked  
out1 and because with the incessant     
noise and stir of our steam-engines and 
spinning-jennies 7for having no wish to 
enjoy1 we are glad to work ourselves to 
death7 we can afford to pay all costs6  
,what makes the matter worse1 is the    
idle way in which we abstract upon one  
another's characters4 ,we are struck    
only with the differences1 and leave the
 common qualities out of the question4  
,this renders a mutual understanding    
hopeless4 ,we put the exceptions for the
 rule4 ,if we meet with any thing odd   
and absurd in ,france1 it is immediately
 set down as ,french and characteristic 
of the country1 though we meet with a   
thousand odd and disagreeable things    
every day in ,england 7that we never met
 before7 without taking any notice of   
them4 ,there is a wonderful keeping in  
our prejudices2 we reason as            
consistently as absurdly upon the       
confined notions we have taken up4 ,we  
put the good1 wholesome1 hearty1        

respectable qualities into one heap and 
call it ,english1 and the bad1          
unwholesome1 frivolous1 and contemptible
 ones into another heap1 and call it    
,french2 and whatever does not answer to
 this pretended sample1 we reject as    
spurious and partial evidence4 ,our     
coxcomb conceit stands over the         
different races of mankind1 like a smart
 serjeant of a regiment1 and drills them
 into a pitiful uniformity1 we ourselves
 being picked out as the lite du corps1 
and the rest of the world forming the   
forlorn hope of humanity4 ,one would    
suppose1 to judge from the conversation 
of the two nations1 that all ,frenchmen 
were alike1 and that all ,englishmen    
were personified by a particular        
individual1 nicknamed ,john ,bull4 ,the 
,french have no idea that there is any  
thing in ,england but roast-beef and    
plum-pudding1 and a number of round1 red
 faces1 growing fat and stupid upon such
 kind of fare2 while our traditional    
notion of the ,french is that of        

soup-maigre and wooden shoes1 and a set 
of scare-crow figures corresponding to  
them4 ,all classes of society and       
differences of character are by this    
unfair process consolidated into a      
sturdy1 surly ,english yeoman on the one
 side of the ,channel1 or are boiled    
down and evaporate into a shivering1    
chattering valet-de-chambre1 or         
miserable half-starved peasant on the   
other4 ,it is a pleasant way of settling
 accounts and taking what we please for 
granted4 ,it is a very old method of    
philosophizing1 and one that is quite   
likely to last6  ,if we see a little old
 hump-backed withered ,frenchman about  
five feet high1 tottering on before us  
on a pair of spindle-shanks1 with white 
thread stockings1 a shabby great-coat1  
and his hair done up into a queue1 his  
face dry1 grey1 and pinched up1 his     
cheeks without blood in them1 his eyes  
without lustre1 and his body twisted    
like a corkscrew1 we point to this      
grotesque figure as a true ,frenchman1  

as the very essence of a ,parisian1 and 
an edifying vestige of the ancient rgime
 and of the last age1 before the ,french
 character was sophisticated4 ,it does  
not signify that just before we had     
passed a bluff1 red-faced1 jolly-looking
 coachman or countryman1 six feet four  
inches high1 having limbs in proportion1
 and able to eat up any two ordinary    
,englishmen4 ,this thumping make-weight 
is thrown out of the scale1 because it  
does not help out our argument1 or      
confirm our prejudices4 ,this huge1     
raw-boned1 heavy1 knock-kneed1 well-fed1
 shining-faced churl makes no impression
 on our minds1 because he is not        
,french1 according to our idea of the   
word2 or we pass him over under the     
pretext that he ought to be an          
,englishman4 ,but the other extreme we  
seize upon with avidity and delight2 we 
dandle it1 we doat upon it1 we make a   
puppet of it to the imagination2 we     
speak of it with glee1 we quote it as a 
text1 we try to make a caricature of it2

 our pens itch to describe it as a      
complete specimen of the ,french nation1
 and as a convincing and satisfactory   
proof1 that the ,english are the only   
people who are of sound mind and body1  
strong wind and limb1 and free from the 
infirmities of a puny constitution1     
affectation1 and old age6 ,an old woman 
in ,france1 with wrinkles and a         
high-plaited cap1 strikes us as being   
quite ,french1 as if the old women in   
,england did not wear night-caps1 and   
were not wrinkled4 ,in passing along the
 streets1 or through the walks near     
,paris1 we continually meet a gentleman 
and lady whom we take for ,english1 and 
they turn out to be ,french2 or we fancy
 that they are ,french1 and we find on a
 nearer approach1 or from hearing them  
speak1 that they are ,english4 ,this    
does not at all satisfy us that there is
 no such marked difference between the  
two nations as we are led to expect2 but
 we fasten on the first lusus natur we  
can find out as a striking              

representative of the universal ,french 
nation1 and chuckle over and almost hug 
him to our bosoms as having kindly come 
to the relief of our wavering           
prejudices1 and as an undoubted proof of
 our superiority to such a set of       
abortions as this1 and of our right to  
insult and lord it over them at         
pleasure6 ,if an object of this kind 7as
 it sometimes happens7 asks charity with
 an air of briskness and politesse1 and 
does not seem quite so wretched as we   
would have him1 this is a further       
confirmation of our theory of the       
national conceit and self-sufficiency2  
and his cheerfulness and content under  
deformity and poverty are added to his  
catalogue of crimes6#be ,we have a very 
old and ridiculous fancy in ,england1   
that all ,frenchmen are or ought to be  
lean1 and their women short and crooked2
 and when we see a great1 fat1 greasy   
,frenchman waddling along and ready to  
burst with good living1 we get off by   
saying that it is an unwholesome kind of

 fat2 or1 if a ,frenchwoman happens to  
be tall and straight1 we immediately    
take a disgust at her masculine looks1  
and ask if all the women in ,france are 
giantesses8  ,it is strange we cannot   
let other people alone who concern      
themselves so little about us4 ,why     
measure them by our standard8 ,can we   
allow nothing to exist for which we     
cannot account1 or to be right which has
 not our previous sanction8 ,the        
difficulty seems to be to suspend our   
judgments1 or to suppose a variety of   
causes to produce a variety of effects4 
,all men must be alike--all ,frenchmen  
must be alike4 ,this is a portable      
theory1 and suits our indolence well4   
,but1 if they do not happen to come     
exactly into our terms1 we are angry1   
and transform them into beasts4 ,our    
first error lies in expecting a number  
of different things to tally with an    
abstract idea1 or general denomination1 
and we next stigmatize every deviation  
from this standard by a nickname4 ,a    

,spaniard1 who has more gravity than an 
,englishman1 is an owl2 a ,frenchman1   
who has less1 is a monkey4 ,i confess1  
this last simile sticks a good deal in  
my throat2 and at times it requires a   
stretch of philosophy to keep it from   
rising to my lips4 ,a walk on the       
,boulevards is not calculated to rid an 
,englishman of all his prejudices or of 
all his spleen4 ,the resemblance to an  
,english promenade afterwards makes the 
difference more mortifying4 ,there is   
room to breathe1 a footpath on each side
 of the road1 and trees over your head4 
,but presently the appearance of a      
,bartlemy-fair all the year round1 the  
number of little shabby stalls1 the old 
iron1 pastry1 and children's toys2 the  
little white lapdogs1 with red eyes1    
combing and washing2 the mud and the    
green trees1 wafting alternate odours2  
the old women sitting like terra cotta  
figures2 the passengers running up      
against you1 7most of them so taken up  
with themselves that they seem like a   

crowd of absent people67 the noise1 the 
bustle1 the flutter1 the hurry without  
visible object2 the vivacity without    
intelligible meaning2 the loud and      
incessant cry of #8,messieurs' from a   
bawling charlatan inviting you to some  
paltry1 cheating game1 and a broad stare
 or insignificant grin from the most    
ill-bred and ill-looking of the motley  
set at the appearance of an ,englishman 
among them2 all this jumble of little   
teazing1 fantastical1 disagreeable1     
chaotic sensations really puts one's    
patience a little to the test1 and      
throws one a little off one's guard4 ,i 
was in this humour the other day1 and   
wanted some object to conduct off a     
superfluity of rising irritability1     
when1 at a painted booth opposite1 ,i   
saw a great lubberly boy in an ecstacy  
of satisfaction4 ,he had on a red coat1 
a huge wig of coarse yellow hair1 and   
with his hat was beating a monkey in the
 face1 dressed en militaire--grinning1  
jabbering1 laughing1 screaming1 frantic 

with delight at the piteous aspect and  
peevish gestures of the animal2 while a 
tall showman1 in a rusty blue coat and  
long pig-tail1 7which might have been   
stolen from the monkey7 looked on with  
severe complacency and a lofty pride in 
the bizarrerie1 and the #8mutually      
reflected charities' of the scene4 ,the 
trio 7,i am vexed to think it7 massed   
themselves in my imagination1 and ,i was
 not sorry to look upon them as a little
 national group1 well-matched1 and      
tricked out alike in pretensions to     
humanity4#bf  ,i was relieved from this 
fit of misanthropy1 by getting into the 
shade of the barrier-wall1 and by       
meeting a man1 7a common ,french        
mechanic17 carrying a child in his arms1
 and the mother by its side1 clapping   
her hands at it1 smiling1 and calling   
out #8,mon petit ami6' with unmingled   
and unwearied delight4 ,there was the   
same over-animation in talking to the   
child as there would have been in       
talking to a dog or a parrot4 ,but here 

it gave pleasure instead of pain1       
because our sympathies went along with  
it4 ,i change my opinion of the ,french 
character fifty times a day1 because1 at
 every step1 ,i wish to form a theory1  
which at the next step1 is contradicted4
 ,the ground seems to me so             
uncertain--the tenure by which ,i hold  
my opinions so frail1 that at last ,i   
grow ashamed of them altogether--of what
 ,i think right1 as of what ,i think    
wrong4  ,to praise or to blame is       
perhaps equally an impertinence4 ,while 
we are strangers to foreign manners and 
customs1 we cannot be judges2 it would  
take almost a life to understand the    
reasons and the differences2 and by the 
time we can be supposed to do this1 we  
become used to them1 and in some sense  
parties concerned4 ,the ,english are the
 fools of an hypothesis1 as the ,scotch 
are of a system4 ,we must have an       
opinion--right or wrong2 but1 in that   
case1 till we have the means of knowing 
whether it is right or wrong1 it is as  

well to have a qualified one4 ,we may at
 least keep our temper1 and collect     
hints for self-correction2 we may amuse 
ourselves in collecting materials for a 
decision that may never be passed1 or   
will have little effect1 even when it   
is1 and may clear our eyesight from the 
motes and beams of prejudice by looking 
at things as they occur4 ,our opinions  
have no great influence on others2 but  
the spirit in which we form them has a  
considerable one on our own happiness4  
,it is of more importance to ourselves  
than to the ,french1 what we think of   
them4 ,it would be hard if a mental     
obliquity on their parts should #8thrust
 us from a level consideration1' or some
 hasty offence taken at the outset      
should shut up our eyes1 our ears1 and  
understandings for the rest of a        
journey1 that we have commenced for no  
other purpose than to be spectators of a
 new and shifting scene1 and to have our
 faculties alike open to impressions of 
all sorts4  ,what ,englishman has not   

seen the ,cemetery of ,pre la ,chaise8  
,what ,englishman will undertake either 
to condemn or entirely approve it1      
unless he could enter completely into   
the minds of the ,french themselves8    
,the approach to it 7a little way out of
 ,paris7 is literally #8garlanded with  
flowers4' ,you imagine yourself in the  
neighbourhood of a wedding1 a fair1 or  
some holiday-festival4 ,women are       
sitting by the road-side or at their own
 doors1 making chaplets of a sort of    
yellow flowers1 which are gathered in   
the fields1 baked1 and will then last a 
,french #8,forever4' ,they have taken   
#8the lean abhorred monster1' ,death1   
and strewed him o'er and o'er with      
sweets2 they have made the grave a      
garden1 a flower-bed1 where all ,paris  
reposes1 the rich and the poor1 the mean
 and the mighty1 gay and laughing1 and  
putting on a fair outside as in their   
lifetime4 ,death here seems life's      
playfellow1 and grief and smiling       
content sit at one tomb together4 ,roses

 grow out of the clayey ground2 there is
 the urn for tears1 the slender cross   
for faith to twine round2 the neat      
marble monument1 the painted wreaths    
thrown upon it to freshen memory1 and   
mark the hand of friendship4 #8,no black
 and melancholic yew-trees' darken the  
scene1 and add a studied gloom to it--no
 ugly death's heads or carved skeletons 
shock the sight4 ,on the contrary1 some 
pretty ,ophelia1 as general mourner1    
appears to have been playing her fancies
 over a nation's bier1 to have been     
scattering #8pansies for thoughts1 rue  
for remembrances4' ,but is not the      
expression of grief1 like hers1 a little
 too fantastical and light-headed8 ,is  
it not too much like a childish game of 
,make-,believe8 ,or does it not imply a 
certain want of strength of mind1 as    
well as depth of feeling1 thus to tamper
 with the extremity of woe1 and varnish 
over the most serious contemplation of  
mortality8 ,true sorrow is manly and    
decent1 not effeminate or theatrical4   

,the tomb is not a baby-house for the   
imagination to hang its idle ornaments  
and mimic finery in4 ,to meet sad       
thoughts1 and overpower or allay them by
 other lofty and tender ones1 is right2 
but to shun them altogether1 to affect  
mirth in the midst of sighing1 and      
divert the pangs of inward misfortune by
 something to catch the eye and tickle  
the sense1 is what the ,english do not  
sympathize with4 ,it is an advantage the
 ,french have over us4 ,the fresh plants
 and trees that wave over our graves2   
the cold marble that contains our ashes2
 the secluded scene that collects the   
wandering thoughts2 the innocent1       
natural flowers that spring up1         
unconscious of our loss--objects like   
these at once cherish and soften our    
regrets2 but the petty daily offerings  
of condolence1 the forced liveliness and
 the painted pride of the scene before  
us1 are like galvanic attempts to recall
 the fleeting life--they neither flatter
 the dead nor become the living6 ,one of

 the most heartless and flimsy          
extravagances of the ,new ,eloise1 is   
the attempt made to dress up the        
daughter of ,madame d',orbe like ,julia1
 and set her in her place at the table  
after her death4 ,is not the            
burying-ground of the ,pre la ,chaise   
tricked out and over-acted much on the  
same false principle1 as if there were  
nothing sacred from impertinence and    
affectation8 ,i will not pretend to     
determine2 but to an ,english taste it  
is so4 ,we see things too much1 perhaps1
 on the dark side2 they see them too    
much 7if that is possible7 on the       
bright4 ,here is the tomb of ,abelard   
and ,eloise--immortal monument1 immortal
 as the human heart and poet's verse can
 make it6 ,but it is slight1 fantastic1 
of the olden time1 and seems to shrink  
from the glare of daylight1 or as if it 
would like to totter back to the old    
walls of the ,paraclete1 and bury its   
quaint devices and its hallowed         
inscriptions in shadowy twilight4 ,it   

is1 however1 an affecting sight1 and    
many a votive garland is sprinkled over 
it4 ,here is the tomb of ,ney1 7the     
double traitor7 worthy of his fate and  
of his executioner2--and of ,massena and
 ,kellerman4 ,there are many others of  
great note1 and some of the greatest    
names--,molire1 ,fontaine1 ,de ,lille4  
,chancellors and charbottiers lie mixed 
together1 and announce themselves with  
equal pomp4 ,these people have as good  
an opinion of themselves after death as 
before it4 ,you see a bust with a wreath
 or crown round its head--a strange     
piece of masquerade--and other tombs    
with a print or miniature of the        
deceased hanging to them6 ,frequently a 
plain marble slab is laid down for the  
surviving relatives of the deceased1    
waiting its prey in expressive silence4 
,this is making too free with death1 and
 acknowledging a claim which requires no
 kind of light to be thrown upon it4 ,we
 should visit the tombs of our friends  
with more soothing feelings1 without    

marking out our own places beside them4 
,but every ,french thought or sentiment 
must have an external emblem4 ,the      
inscriptions are in general1 however1   
simple and appropriate4 ,i only remarked
 one to which any exception could be    
taken2 it was a plain tribute of        
affection to some individual by his     
family1 who professed to have #8erected 
this modest monument to preserve his    
memory forever6' ,what a singular idea  
of modesty and eternity6 ,so the        
,french1 in the ,catalogue of the       
,louvre1 in #ahjc1 after recounting the 
various transmigrations of the ,apollo  
,belvidere in the last two thousand     
years 7vain warnings of mutability67    
observed1 that it was at last placed in 
the ,museum at ,paris1 #8to remain there
 forever4' ,alas6 it has been gone these
 ten years4                             
,,chapter ,,ix   ,mademoiselle ,mars 7of
 whom so much has been said7 quite comes
 up to my idea of an accomplished comic 
actress4 ,i do not know that she does   

more than this1 or imparts a feeling of 
excellence that we never had before1 and
 are at a loss how to account for       
afterwards 7as was the case with our    
,mrs4 ,jordan and ,mrs4 ,siddons in     
opposite departments17 but she answers  
exactly to a preconception in the mind1 
and leaves nothing wanting to our       
wishes4 ,i had seen nothing of the kind 
on our stage for many years1 and my     
satisfaction was the greater1 as ,i had 
often longed to see it4 ,the last       
,english actress who shone in genteel   
comedy was ,miss ,farren1 and she was   
just leaving the stage when ,i first    
became acquainted with it4 ,she was said
 to be a faint copy of ,mrs4            
,abington--but ,i seem to see her yet1  
glittering in the verge of the horizon1 
fluttering1 gay1 and airy1 the #8elegant
 turn of her head1' the nodding plume of
 feathers1 the gloves and fan1 the      
careless mien1 the provoking            
indifference--we have had nothing like  
it since1 for ,i cannot admit that ,miss

 ,o',neil had the ,lady-,teazle air at  
all4 ,out of tragedy she was awkward and
 heavy4 ,she could draw out a white1    
patient1 pathetic pocket-handkerchief   
with great grace and simplicity2 she had
 no notion of flirting a fan4 ,the rule 
here is to do every thing without       
effort--                    #8,flavia   
the least and slightest toy             
,can with resistless art employ4'  ,this
 art is lost among us2 the ,french still
 have it in very considerable           
perfection4 ,really1 it is a fine thing 
to see ,molire's ,misanthrope1 at the   
,theatre ,franais1 with ,mademoiselle   
,mars as ,celimne4 ,i had already seen  
some very tolerable acting at the minor 
,french ,theatres1 but ,i remained      
sceptical2 ,i still had my ,english     
scruples hanging about me1 nor could ,i 
get quite reconciled to the ,french     
manner4 ,for mannerism is not           
excellence4 ,it might be good1 but ,i   
was not sure of it4 ,whatever one       
hesitates about in this way1 is not the 

best4 ,if a thing is first-rate1 you see
 it at once1 or the fault is yours4     
,true genius will always get the better 
of our local prejudices1 for it has     
already surmounted its own4 ,for this   
reason1 one becomes an immediate convert
 to the excellence of the ,french school
 of serious comedy4 ,their actors have  
lost little or nothing of their spirit1 
tact1 or skill in embodying the wit and 
sense of their favourite authors4 ,the  
most successful passages do not         
interfere with our admiration of the    
best samples of ,english acting1 or run 
counter to our notions of propriety4    
,that which we thought well done among  
ourselves1 we here see as well or better
 done2 that which we thought defective1 
avoided4 ,the excellence or even        
superiority of the ,french over us only 
confirms the justness of our taste4 ,if 
the actor might feel some jealousy1 the 
critic can feel none4 ,what ,englishman 
does not read ,molire with pleasure8 ,is
 it not a treat then to see him well    

acted8 ,there is nothing to recall our  
national antipathies1 and we are glad to
 part with such unpleasant guests4  ,the
 curtain is scarcely drawn up1 when     
something of this effect is produced in 
the play ,i have mentioned1 and the     
entrance of ,mademoiselle ,mars decides 
it4 ,her few first simple sentences--her
 #8,mon ,ami' at her lover's first      
ridiculous suggestion1 the mingled      
surprise1 displeasure1 and tenderness in
 the tone--her little peering eyes1 full
 of languor and archness of meaning--the
 peaked nose and thin compressed lips1  
opening into an intelligent1 cordial    
smile--her self-possession--her         
slightest gesture--the ease and rapidity
 of her utterance1 every word of which  
is perfectly distinct--the playful1     
wondering good-nature with which she    
humours the ,misanthrope's              
eccentricities throughout1 and the finer
 tone of sense and feeling in which she 
rejects his final proposal1 must stamp  
her a favourite with the ,english as    

well as with the ,french part of the    
audience4 ,i cannot see why that should 
not be the case4 ,she is all life and   
spirit4 ,would we be thought entirely   
without them8 ,she has a thorough       
understanding and relish of her author's
 text4 ,so1 we think1 have we4 ,she has 
character1 expression1 decision--they   
are the very things we pique ourselves  
upon4 ,ease1 grace1 propriety--we aspire
 to them1 if we have them not4 ,she is  
free from the simagres1 the unmeaning   
petulance and petty affectation that we 
reproach the ,french with1 and has none 
of the awkwardness1 insipidity1 or      
vulgarity that we are so ready to       
quarrel with at home4 ,it would be      
strange if the ,english did not admire  
her as much as they profess to do4 ,i   
have seen but one book of travels in    
which she was abused1 and that was      
written by a ,scotchman6 ,mademoiselle  
,mars is neither handsome nor delicately
 formed4 ,she has not the light airy    
grace1 nor the evanescent fragility of  

appearance that distinguished ,miss     
,farren1 but more point and meaning1 or 
more of the intellectual part of comedy4
  ,she was admirably supported in       
,celimne4 ,monsieur ,damas played the   
hero of the ,misanthrope1 and played it 
with a force and natural freedom which  
,i had no conception of as belonging to 
the ,french stage4 ,if they drawl out   
their tragic rhymes into an endless     
sing-song1 they cut up their comic      
verses into mincemeat4 ,the pauses1 the 
emphasis1 are left quite ad libitum1 and
 are as sudden and varied as in the most
 familiar or passionate conversation4   
,in ,racine they are obliged to make an 
effort to get out of themselves1 and are
 solemn and well-behaved2 in ,molire    
they are at home1 and commit all sorts  
of extravagances with wonderful alacrity
 and effect4 ,heroes in comedy1 pedants 
in tragedy1 they are greatest on small  
occasions2 and their most brilliant     
efforts arise out of the ground of      
common life4 ,monsieur ,damas's         

personification of the ,misanthrope     
appeared to me masterly4 ,he had        
apparently been chosen to fill the part 
for his ugliness2 but he played the     
lover and the fanatic with remarkable   
skill1 nature1 good-breeding1 and       
disordered passion4 ,the rapidity1 the  
vehemence of his utterance and gestures1
 the transitions from one feeling to    
another1 the fond rapture1 the despair1 
the rage1 the sarcastic coolness1 the   
dignified contempt1 were much in the    
style of our most violent tragic        
representations1 and such as we do not  
see in our serious comedy or in ,french 
tragedy4 ,the way in which this         
philosophic madman gave a loose to the  
expression of his feelings1 when he     
first suspects the fidelity of his      
mistress1 when he quarrels with her1 and
 when he is reconciled to her1 was      
strikingly affecting4 ,it was a regular 
furious scolding-bout1 with the ordinary
 accompaniments of tears1 screams1 and  
hysterics4 ,a comic actor with us would 

have made the part insipid and genteel2 
a tragic one with them pompous and      
affected4 ,at ,drury-lane1 ,mr4 ,powell 
would take the part4 ,our fine gentlemen
 are walking suits of clothes2 their    
tragic performers are a professor's gown
 and wig3 the ,misanthrope of ,molire1  
as ,monsieur ,damas plays it1 is a true 
orator and man of genius4 ,if they pour 
the oil of decorum over the loftier     
waves of tragedy1 their sentimental     
comedy is like a puddle in a storm4 ,the
 whole was admirably cast1 and ought to 
make the ,english ashamed of themselves1
 if they are not above attending to any 
thing that can give pleasure to         
themselves or other people4 ,arsinoe1   
the friend and rival of ,celimne1 was   
played by ,madame ----1 a ripe1         
full-blown beauty1 a prude1 the         
redundancies of whose person and        
passions are kept in due bounds by tight
 lacing and lessons of morality4        
,eliante was a ,mademoiselle ,menjaud1 a
 very amiable-looking young person1 and 

exactly fitted to be an lve in this     
,school for ,scandal4 ,she smiled and   
blushed and lisped mischief in the      
prettiest manner imaginable4 ,the man   
who comes to read his ,sonnet to        
,alceste was inimitable4 ,his teeth had 
an enamel1 his lips a vermilion1 his    
eyes a brilliancy1 his smile a          
self-complacency1 such as never met in  
poet or in peer1 since ,revolutions and 
,reviews came into fashion4 ,he seemed  
to have been preserved in a glass-case  
for the last hundred and fifty years1   
and to have walked out of it in these   
degenerate days1 dressed in brocade1 in 
smiles and self-conceit1 to give the    
world assurance of what a ,frenchman    
was6 ,philinte was also one of those    
prosing confidants1 with grim features1 
and profound gravity1 that are to be    
found in all ,french plays1 and who1 by 
their patient attention to a speech of  
half an hour long1 acquire an undoubted 
right to make one of equal length in    
return4 ,when they were all drawn up in 

battle-array1 in the scene near the     
beginning1 which ,sheridan has copied1  
it presented a very formidable aspect   
indeed1 and the effect was an historical
 deception4 ,you forgot you were sitting
 at a play at all1 and fancied yourself 
transported to the court or age of      
,louis ,,xiv46--,blest period6--the     
triumph of folly and of ,france1 when1  
instead of poring over systems of       
philosophy1 the world lived in a round  
of impertinence--when to talk nonsense  
was wit1 to listen to it                
politeness--when men thought of nothing 
but themselves1 and turned their heads  
with dress instead of the affairs of    
,europe--when the smile of greatness was
 felicity1 the smile of beauty          
,elysium--and when men drank the        
brimming nectar of self-applause1       
instead of waiting for the opinion of   
the reading public6 ,who would not fling
 himself back to this period of idle    
enchantment8 ,but as we cannot1 the best
 substitute for it is to see a comedy of

 ,molire's acted at the ,theatre        
,franais4 ,the thing is there imitated  
to the life4  ,after all1 there is      
something sufficiently absurd and       
improbable in this play4 ,the character 
from which it takes its title is not    
well made out4 ,a misanthrope and a     
philanthropist are the same thing1 as   
,rousseau has so well shewn in his      
admirable criticism on this piece4      
,besides1 what can be so nationally     
characteristic as the voluntary or      
dramatic transfers of passion in it8    
,alceste suspects his mistress's truth1 
and makes an abrupt and violent         
declaration of love to another woman in 
consequence1 as if the passion 7in      
,french7 went along with the speech1 and
 our feelings could take any direction  
at pleasure which we bethought ourselves
 of giving them4 ,and then again1 when  
after a number of outrages and blunders 
committed by himself1 he finds he is in 
the wrong1 and that he ought to be      
satisfied with ,celimne and the world1  

which turns out no worse than he always 
thought it2 he takes1 in pure spite and 
the spirit of contradiction1 the        
resolution to quit her forever1 unless  
she will agree to go and live with him  
in a wilderness4 ,this is not           
misanthropy1 but sheer #8midsummer      
madness4' ,it is a mere idle abstract   
determination to be miserable1 and to   
make others so1 and not the desperate   
resource of bitter disappointment 7for  
he has received none7 nor is it in the  
least warranted by the proud indignation
 of a worthy sensible man at the follies
 of the world 7which character ,alceste 
is at first represented to be74 ,it is a
 gratuitous start of ,french            
imagination1 which is still in extremes1
 and ever in the wrong4 ,why1 ,i would  
ask1 must a man be either a mere        
courtier and man of the world1 pliant to
 every custom1 or a mere enthusiast and 
maniac1 absolved from common sense and  
reason8 ,why could not the hero of the  
piece be a philosopher1 a satirist1 a   

railer at mankind in general1 and yet   
marry ,celimne1 with whom he is in love1
 and who has proved herself worthy of   
his regard8 ,the extravagance of ,timon 
is tame and reasonable to this1 for     
,timon had been ruined by his faith in  
mankind1 whom he shuns4 ,yet the ,french
 would consider ,timon as a very        
farouche and outr sort of personage4 ,to
 be hurried into extremities by extreme 
suffering and wrong1 is with them absurd
 and shocking3 to play the fool without 
a motive or in virtue of making a set   
speech1 they think in character and     
keeping4 ,so far1 to be sure1 we differ 
in the first principles of dramatic     
composition4 ,a similar remark might be 
made on the ,tartuffe4 ,this character  
is detected over and over again in acts 
of the most barefaced profligacy and    
imposture2 he makes a fine speech on the
 occasion1 and ,orgon very quietly puts 
the offence in his pocket4 ,this        
credulity to verbal professions would be
 tolerated on no stage but the ,french1 

as natural or probable4 ,plain ,english 
practical good sense would revolt at it 
as a monstrous fiction4 ,but the ,french
 are so fond of hearing themselves talk1
 that they take a sort of interest 7by  
proxy7 in whatever affords an           
opportunity for an ingenious and prolix 
harangue1 and attend to the dialogue of 
their plays1 as they might to the       
long-winded intricacies of a law-suit4  
,mr4 ,bartolino ,saddletree would have  
assisted admirably at a genuine prosing 
,french ,comedy4  ,mademoiselle ,mars   
played also in the afterpiece1 a sort of
 shadowy ,catherine and ,petruchio4 ,she
 is less at home in the romp than in the
 fine lady4 ,she did not give herself up
 to the #8whole loosened soul' of farce1
 nor was there the rich laugh1 the      
sullen caprice1 the childish delight and
 astonishment in the part1 that ,mrs4   
,jordan would have thrown into it4 ,mrs4
 ,orger would have done it almost as    
well4 ,there was a dryness and          
restraint1 as if there was a constant   

dread of running into caricature4 ,the  
outline was correct1 but the filling up 
was not bold or luxuriant4 ,there is a  
tendency in the lighter ,french comedy  
to a certain jejuneness of manner1 such 
as we see in lithographic prints4 ,they 
do not give full swing to the march of  
the humour1 just as in their short1     
tripping walk they seem to have their   
legs tied4 ,madame ,marsan is in this   
respect superior4 ,there was an old man 
and woman in the same piece1 in whom the
 quaint drollery of a couple of veteran 
retainers in the service of a ,french   
family was capitally expressed4 ,the    
humour of ,shakspeare's play1 as far as 
it was extracted1 hit very well4--,the  
behaviour of the audience was throughout
 exemplary4 ,there was no crowd at the  
door1 though the house was as full as it
 could hold2 and indeed most of the     
places are bespoke1 whenever any of     
their standard pieces are performed4    
,the attention never flags2 and the buzz
 of eager expectation and call for      

silence1 when the curtain draws up1 is  
just the same as with us when an ,opera 
is about to be performed1 or a song to  
be sung4 ,a ,french audience are like   
flies caught in treacle4 ,their wings   
are clogged1 and it is all over with    
their friskings and vagaries4 ,their    
bodies and their minds set at once4     
,they have1 in fact1 a national theatre 
and a national literature1 which we have
 not4 ,even well-informed people among  
us hardly know the difference between   
,otway and ,shakspeare2 and if a person 
has a fancy for any of our elder        
classics1 he may have it to himself for 
what the public cares4 ,the ,french1 on 
the contrary1 know and value their best 
authors4 ,they have ,molire and ,racine 
by heart--they come to their plays as to
 an intellectual treat2 and their       
beauties are reflected in a thousand    
minds around you1 as you see your face  
at every turn in the ,caf des           
,milles-,colonnes4 ,a great author or   
actor is really in ,france what one     

fancies them in ,england1 before one    
knows any thing of the world as it is   
called4 ,it is a pity we should set     
ourselves up as the only reading or     
reflecting people--ut lucus a non       
lucendo4#bg ,but we have here no oranges
 in the pit1 no cry of porter and cider1
 no jack-tars to encore ,mr4 ,braham    
three times in #8,the ,death of         
,abercrombie1' and no play-bills4 ,this 
last is a great inconvenience to        
strangers1 and is what one would not    
expect from a play-going people2 though 
it probably arises from that very       
circumstance1 as they are too well      
acquainted with the actors and pieces to
 need a prompter4 ,they are not         
accidental spectators1 but constant     
visitors1 and may be considered as      
behind the scenes4  ,i saw three very   
clever comic actors at the ,theatre des 
,varits on the ,boulevards1 all quite   
different from each other1 but quite    
,french4 ,one was ,le ,peintre1 who     
acted a master-printer2 and he was a    

master-printer1 so bare1 so dingy1 and  
so wan1 that he might be supposed to    
have lived on printer's ink and on a    
crust of dry bread cut with an oniony   
knife4 ,the resemblance to familiar life
 was so complete and so habitual1 as to 
take away the sense of imitation or the 
pleasure of the deception4 ,another was 
,odry1 7,i believe17 who with his blue  
coat1 gold-laced hat1 and corpulent     
belly1 resembled a jolly1 swaggering1   
good-humoured parish-officer1 or the    
boatswain of an ,english man-of-war4    
,his clats de rire1 the giddy way in    
which he ran about the stage 7like an   
overgrown school-boy71 his extravagant  
noises1 and his gabbling and face-making
 were1 however1 quite in the ,french    
style4 ,a fat1 pursy ,englishman1 acting
 the droll in this manner1 would be     
thought drunk or mad2 the ,frenchman was
 only gay6 ,monsieur ,potier played an  
old lover1 and1 till he was drest1      
looked like an old ,french cook-shop    
keeper4 ,the old beau transpired through

 his finery afterwards4 ,but1 though the
 part was admirably understood1 the     
ridicule was carried too far4 ,this     
person was too meagre1 his whisper too  
inaudible1 his attempts at gallantry too
 feeble and vapid1 and the whole too    
much an exhibition of mere physical     
decay to make the satire pleasant4      
,there should be at least some revival  
of the dead2 the taper of love ought to 
throw out an expiring gleam4 ,in the    
song in praise of ,love he threw a      
certain romantic air into the words1    
warbling them in a faint demi-voix1 and 
with the last sigh of a youthful        
enthusiasm fluttering on his lips4 ,this
 was charming4 ,i could not help taking 
notice1 that during his breakfast1 and  
while he is sipping his coffee1 he never
 once ceases talking to his valet the   
whole time4 ,the concluding scene1 in   
which1 after kneeling to his mistress1  
he is unable to rise again without the  
help of his nephew1 who surprises him in
 this situation1 and who is also his    

rival1 is very amusing4#bh ,the songs at
 this theatre are very pleasing and     
light1 but so short1 that they are over 
almost as soon as begun1 and before your
 ears have a mouthful of sound4 ,this is
 very tantalizing to us2 but the ,french
 seem impatient to have the dialogue go 
on again1 in which they may suppose     
themselves to have a share4 ,i wanted to
 see ,brunet1 but did not4  ,talma and  
,mademoiselle ,georges 7the great props 
of ,french tragedy7 are not at present  
here4 ,talma is at ,lyons1 and          
,mademoiselle ,georges has retired on a 
pique into the country1 in the manner of
 some ,english actresses4 ,i had seen   
them both formerly1 and should have     
liked to see them again4 ,talma has     
little of the formal automaton style in 
his acting4 ,he has indeed that common  
fault in his countrymen of speaking as  
if he had swallowed a handful of snuff2 
but in spite of this1 there is great    
emphasis and energy in his enunciation1 
a just conception1 and an impressive    

representation of character4 ,he comes  
more in contact with nature than our    
,kemble-school1 with more of dignity    
than the antagonist one4 ,there is a    
dumb eloquence in his gestures4 ,in     
dipus1 ,i remember his raising his hands
 above his head1 as if some appalling   
weight were falling on him to crush him2
 and in the ,philoctetes1 the expression
 of excruciating pain was of that mixed 
mental and physical kind1 which is so   
irresistibly affecting in reading the   
original ,greek play1 which ,racine has 
paraphrased very finely4 ,the sounds of 
his despair and the complaints of his   
desolate situation were so thrilling1   
that you might almost fancy you heard   
the wild waves moan an answer to them4  
,mademoiselle ,georges 7who gave        
recitations in ,london in #ahag7 was1 at
 the time ,i saw her1 a very remarkable 
person4 ,she was exceedingly beautiful1 
and exceedingly fat4 ,her fine handsome 
features had the regularity of an       
antique statue1 with the roundness and  

softness of infancy4 ,her               
well-proportioned arms 7swelled out into
 the largest dimensions7 tapered down to
 a delicate baby-hand4 ,with such a     
disadvantage there was no want of grace 
or flexibility in her movements4 ,her   
voice had also great sweetness and      
compass4 ,it either sunk into the       
softest accents of tremulous            
plaintiveness1 or rose in thunder4 ,the 
effect was surprising2 and one was not  
altogether reconciled to it at first4   
,she plays at the ,odeon1 and has a     
rival at the ,theatre ,franais1 ,madame 
,paradol1 who is very like her in       
person4 ,she is an immense woman2 when  
,i saw her1 ,i thought it was           
,mademoiselle ,georges fallen away6     
,there are some other tragic actresses  
here1 with the prim airs of a ,french   
milliner forty years ago1 the hardiesse 
of a battered gouvernante1 and the      
brazen lungs of a drum-major4           
,mademoiselle ,duchesnois ,i have not   
had an opportunity of seeing4           

,,chapter ,x   ,paris is a beast of a   
city to be in--to those who cannot get  
out of it4 ,rousseau said well1 that all
 the time he was in it1 he was only     
trying how he should leave it4 ,it would
 still bear ,rabelais' double etymology 
of ,par-ris and ,lutetia4#bi ,there is  
not a place in it where you can set your
 foot in peace or comfort1 unless you   
can take refuge in one of their hotels1 
where you are locked up as in an        
old-fashioned citadel1 without any of   
the dignity of romance4 ,stir out of it1
 and you are in danger of being run over
 every instant4 ,either you must be     
looking behind you the whole time1 so as
 to be in perpetual fear of their       
hackney-coaches and cabriolets2 or1 if  
you summon resolution1 and put off the  
evil to the last moment1 they come up   
against you with a sudden acceleration  
of pace and a thundering noise1 that    
dislocates your nervous system1 till you
 are brought to yourself by having the  
same startling process repeated4 ,fancy 

yourself in ,london with the footpath   
taken away1 so that you are forced to   
walk along the middle of the streets    
with a dirty gutter running through     
them1 fighting your way through coaches1
 waggons1 and handcarts trundled along  
by large mastiff-dogs1 with the houses  
twice as high1 greasy holes for         
shop-windows1 and piles of wood1        
green-stalls1 and wheelbarrows placed at
 the doors1 and the contents of         
wash-hand basins pouring out of a dozen 
stories--fancy all this and worse1 and1 
with a change of scene1 you are in      
,paris4 ,the continual panic in which   
the passenger is kept1 the alarm and the
 escape from it1 the anger and the      
laughter at it1 must have an effect on  
the ,parisian character1 and tend to    
make it the whiffling1 skittish1        
snappish1 volatile1 inconsequential1    
unmeaning thing it is4 ,the coachmen    
nearly drive over you in the streets1   
because they would not mind being driven
 over themselves--that is1 they would   

have no fear of it the moment before1   
and would forget it the moment after4   
,if an ,englishman turns round1 is      
angry1 and complains1 he is laughed at  
as a blockhead2 and you must submit to  
be rode over in your national character4
 ,a horseman makes his horse curvet and 
capriole right before you1 because he   
has no notion how an ,english lady1 who 
is passing1 can be nervous4 ,they run up
 against you in the street out of mere  
heedlessness and hurry1 and when you    
expect to have a quarrel 7as would be   
the case in ,england7 make you a low bow
 and slip on one side1 to shew their    
politeness4 ,the very walk of the       
,parisians1 that light1 jerking1        
fidgetting trip on which they pride     
themselves1 and think it grace and      
spirit1 is the effect of the awkward    
construction of their streets1 or of the
 round1 flat1 slippery stones1 over     
which you are obliged to make your way  
on tiptoe1 as over a succession of      
stepping-stones1 and where natural ease 

and steadiness are out of the question4 
,on the same principle1 ,french women   
shew their legs 7it is a pity1 for they 
are often handsome1 and a stolen glimpse
 of them would sometimes be charming7   
sooner than get draggle-tailed2 and you 
see an old ,french beau generally walk  
like a crab nearly sideways1 from having
 been so often stuck up in a lateral    
position between a coach-wheel1 that    
threatened the wholeness of his bones1  
and a stone-wall that might endanger the
 cleanliness of his person4 ,in winter1 
you are splashed all over with the mud2 
in summer1 you are knocked down with the
 smells4 ,if you pass along the middle  
of the street1 you are hurried out of   
breath2 if on one side1 you must pick   
your way no less cautiously4 ,paris is a
 vast pile of tall and dirty alleys1 of 
slaughter-houses and barbers' shops--an 
immense suburb huddled together within  
the walls so close1 that you cannot see 
the loftiness of the buildings for the  
narrowness of the streets1 and where all

 that is fit to live in1 and best worth 
looking at1 is turned out upon the      
quays1 the boulevards1 and their        
immediate vicinity4  ,paris1 where you  
can get a sight of it1 is really fine4  
,the view from the bridges is even more 
imposing and picturesque than ours1     
though the bridges themselves and the   
river are not to compare with the       
,thames1 or with the bridges that cross 
it4 ,the mass of public buildings and   
houses1 as seen from the ,pont ,neuf1   
rises around you on either hand1 whether
 you look up or down the river1 in huge1
 aspiring1 tortuous ridges1 and produces
 a solidity of impression and a         
fantastic confusion not easy to         
reconcile4 ,the clearness of the air1   
the glittering sunshine1 and the cool   
shadows add to the enchantment of the   
scene4 ,in a bright day1 it dazzles the 
eye like a steel mirror4 ,the view of   
,london is more open and extensive2 it  
lies lower1 and stretches out in a      
lengthened line of dusky magnificence4  

,after all1 it is an ordinary town1 a   
place of trade and business4 ,paris is a
 splendid vision1 a fabric dug out of   
the earth1 and hanging over it4 ,the    
stately1 old-fashioned shapes and       
jutting angles of the houses give it the
 venerable appearance of antiquity1     
while their texture and colour clothe it
 in a robe of modern splendour4 ,it     
looks like a collection of palaces1 or  
of ruins6 ,they have1 however1 no single
 building that towers above and crowns  
the whole1 like ,st4 ,paul's1 7the      
,pantheon is a stiff1 unjointed mass to 
it7--nor is ,notre-,dame at all to be   
compared to ,westminster-,abbey with its
 ,poets' ,corner1 that urn full of noble
 ,english ashes1 where ,lord ,byron was 
ashamed to lie4 ,the ,chamber of        
,deputies 7formerly the residence of the
 ,dukes of ,bourbon7 presents a         
brilliant frontispiece1 but it is a kind
 of architectural abstraction1 standing 
apart1 and unconnected with every thing 
else1 not burrowing1 like our ,house of 

,commons 7that true and original model  
of a ,representative ,assembly ,house67 
almost underground1 and lost among the  
rabble of streets4 ,the ,tuileries is   
also a very noble pile of buildings1 if 
not a superb piece of architecture4 ,it 
is a little heavy and monotonous1 a     
habitation for the bodies or for the    
minds of ,kings1 but it goes on in a    
laudable jog-trot1 right-lined          
repetition of itself1 without much worth
 or sense in any single part 7like the  
accumulation of greatness in an         
hereditary dynasty74 ,at least it ought 
to be finished 7for the omen's sake71 to
 make the concatenation of ideas        
inviolable and complete6 ,the           
,luxembourg1 the ,hospital of ,invalids1
 the ,hall of ,justice1 and innumerable 
other buildings1 whether public or      
private1 are far superior to any of the 
kind we have in ,london1 except         
,whitehall1 on which ,inigo ,jones laid 
his graceful hands2 or ,newgate1 where  
we ,english shine equally in            

architecture1 morals1 and legislation4  
,our palaces 7within the bills of       
mortality7 are dog-holes1 or receptacles
 for superannuated ,abigails1 and       
tabbies of either species4 ,windsor     
7whose airy heights are placed beyond   
them7 is1 indeed1 a palace for a king to
 inhabit1 or a poet to describe1 or to  
turn the head of a prose-writer4 7,see  
,gray's ,ode1 and the famous passage in 
,burke about it47 ,buonaparte's ,pillar1
 in the ,place ,vendme1 cast in bronze1 
and with excellent sculptures1 made of  
the cannon taken from the ,allies in    
their long march to ,paris1 is a fine   
copy of the antique4 ,a white flag flaps
 over it4 ,i should like to write these 
lines at the bottom of it4 ,probably1   
,mr4 ,jerdan will know where to find    
them4              #8,the painful       
warrior1 famoused for fight             
,after a thousand victories once foiled1
             ,is from the book of honour
 razed quite1               ,and all the
 rest forgot1 for which he toiled4'     

,the new streets and squares in this    
neighbourhood are also on an improved   
plan--there is a double side-path to    
walk on1 the shops are more roomy and   
richer1 and you can stop to look at them
 in safety4 ,this is as it should       
be--all we ask is common sense4 ,without
 this practical concession on their     
parts1 in the dispute whether ,paris is 
not better than ,london1 it would seem  
to remain a question1 whether it is     
better to walk on a mall or in a gutter1
 whether airy space is preferable to    
fetid confinement1 or whether solidity  
and show together are not better than   
mere frippery8 ,but for a real ,west    
,end1 for a solid substantial cut into  
the heart of a metropolis1 commend me to
 the streets and squares on each side of
 the top of ,oxford-street--with        
,grosvenor and ,portman squares at one  
end1 and ,cavendish and ,hanover at the 
other1 linked together by ,bruton1      
,south-,audley1 and a hundred other fine
 old streets1 with a broad airy         

pavement1 a display of comfort1 of      
wealth1 of taste1 and rank all about    
you1 each house seeming to have been the
 residence of some respectable old      
,english family for half a century past1
 and with ,portland-place looking out   
towards ,hampstead and ,highgate1 with  
their hanging gardens and lofty         
terraces1 and ,primrose-hill nestling   
beneath them1 in green1 pastoral luxury1
 the delight of the ,cockney1 the       
aversion of ,sir ,walter and his        
merry-men6 ,my favourite walk in ,paris 
is to the ,gardens of the ,tuileries4   
,paris differs from ,london in this     
respect1 that it has no suburbs4 ,the   
moment you are beyond the barriers1 you 
are in the country to all intents and   
purposes4 ,you have not to wade through 
ten miles of straggling houses to get a 
breath of fresh air1 or a peep at       
nature4 ,it is a blessing to            
counterbalance the inconveniences of    
large cities built within walls1 that   
they do not extend far beyond them4 ,the

 superfluous population is pared off1   
like the pie-crust by the circumference 
of the dish--even on the court side1 not
 a hundred yards from the barrier of    
,neuilly1 you see an old shepherd       
tending his flock1 with his dog and his 
crook and sheep-skin cloak1 just as if  
it were a hundred miles off1 or a       
hundred years ago4 ,it was so twenty    
years ago4 ,i went again to see if it   
was the same yesterday4 ,the old man was
 gone2 but there was his flock by the   
road-side1 and a dog and a boy1 grinning
 with white healthy teeth1 like one of  
,murillo's beggar-boys4 ,it was a bright
 frosty noon2 and the air was1 in a     
manner1 vitreous1 from its clearness1   
its coolness1 and hardness to the       
feeling4 ,the road ,i speak of1         
frequented by ,english jockeys and      
,french market-women1 riding between    
panniers1 leads down to the ,bois de    
,boulogne on the left1 a delicious      
retreat1 covered with copse-wood for    
fuel1 and intersected by greensward     

paths and shady alleys1 running for     
miles in opposite directions1 and       
terminating in a point of inconceivable 
brightness4 ,some of the woods on the   
borders of ,wiltshire and ,hampshire    
present exactly the same appearance1    
with the same delightful sylvan paths   
through them1 and are covered in summer 
with hyacinths and primroses1 sweetening
 the air1 enamelling the ground1 and    
with nightingales loading every bough   
with rich music4 ,it was winter when ,i 
used to wander through the ,bois de     
,boulogne formerly1 dreaming of fabled  
truth and good4 ,somehow my thoughts and
 feet still take their old direction1   
though hailed by no friendly            
greetings3--            #8,what though  
the radiance which was once so bright1  
,be now for ever vanished from my sight2
           ,though nothing can bring    
back the hour           ,of glory in the
 grass--of splendour in the flower3'--  
yet the fever and the agony of hope is  
over too1 #8the burden and the mystery2'

 the past circles my head1 like a golden
 dream2 it is a fine fragment of an     
unfinished poem or history2 and the     
#8worst1' as ,shakspeare says1 #8returns
 to good6' ,i cannot say ,i am at all   
annoyed 7as ,i expected7 at seeing the  
,bourbon court-carriages issuing out    
with a flourish of trumpets and a troop 
of horse4 ,it looks like a fantoccini   
procession1 a ,state mockery4 ,the fine 
moral lesson1 the soul of greatness1 is 
wanting4 ,the legitimate possessors of  
royal power seem to be playing at       
,make-,believe2 the upstarts and        
impostors are the true ,simon ,pures and
 genuine realities4 ,bonaparte mounted a
 throne from the top of the pillar of   
,victory4 ,people ask who ,charles ,x4  
is8 ,but to return from this digression4
  ,through the arch-way of the          
,tuileries1 at the end of the ,champs   
,elyses1 you see the ,barrier of        
,neuilly1 like a thing of air1          
diminished by a fairy perspective4 ,the 
effect is exquisitely light and magical4

 ,you pass through the arch-way1 and are
 in the gardens themselves4 ,milton     
should have written those lines abroad1 
and in this very spot--                 
#8,and bring with thee retired ,leisure1
                ,that in trim gardens   
takes his pleasure4'  ,true art is      
#8nature to advantage drest2' it is here
 a powdered beau4 ,the prodigality of   
littleness1 the excess of ornament1 the 
superficial gloss1 the studied neatness1
 are carried to a pitch of the romantic4
 ,the ,luxembourg gardens are more      
extensive1 and command a finer view2 but
 are not kept in the same order1 are    
dilapidated and desultory4 ,this is an  
enclosure of all sweet sights and       
smells1 a concentration of elegance4    
,the rest of the world is barbarous to  
this #8paradise of dainty devices1'     
where the imagination is spell-bound4   
,it is a perfectly-finished miniature   
set in brilliants4 ,it is a toilette for
 nature to dress itself2 where every    
flower seems a narcissus6 ,the smooth   

gravel-walks1 the basin of water1 the   
swans 7they might be of wax71 the golden
 fishes1 the beds of flowers1           
chine-asters1 larkspur1 geraniums1      
bright marigolds1 mignonette 7#8the     
,frenchman's darling'7 scenting the air 
with a faint luscious perfume1 the rows 
of orange-trees in boxes1 blooming      
verdure and vegetable gold1 the gleaming
 statues1 the raised terraces1 the      
stately avenues of trees1 and the gray  
cumbrous towers of the ,tuileries       
overlooking the whole1 give an effect of
 enchantment to the scene4 ,this and the
 man in black by ,titian1 in the ,louvre
 just by 7whose features form a sombre  
pendant to the gay parterres7 are the   
two things in ,paris ,i like best4 ,i   
should never tire of walking in the one1
 or of looking at the other4 ,yet no two
 things can be more opposite4#cj ,the   
one is the essence of ,french1 the other
 of ,italian art4 ,by following the     
windings of the river in this direction1
 you come to ,passy--a delightful       

village1 half-way to ,st4 ,cloud1 which 
is situated on a rich eminence that     
looks down on ,paris and the ,seine1 and
 so on to ,versailles1 where the        
,english reside4 ,i have not been to see
 them1 nor they me4 ,the whole road is  
interspersed with villas1 and lined with
 rows of trees4 ,this last is a common  
feature in foreign scenery4 ,whether    
from the general love of pleasurable    
sensations1 or from the greater warmth  
of southern climates making the shelter 
from the heat of the sun more necessary1
 or from the closeness of the cities    
making a promenade round them more      
desirable1 the approach to almost all   
the principal towns abroad is indicated 
by shady plantations1 and the           
neighbourhood is a succession of groves 
and arbours4  ,the ,champ de ,mars 7the 
,french ,runnymede7 is on the opposite  
side of the river1 a little above the   
,champs ,elyses4 ,it is an oblong square
 piece of ground immediately in front of
 the cole ,militaire1 covered with sand 

and gravel1 and bare of trees or any    
other ornament4 ,it is left a blank1 as 
it should be4 ,in going to and returning
 from it1 you pass the fine old ,invalid
 ,hospital1 with its immense gilded     
cupola and outer-walls overgrown with   
vines1 and meet the crippled veterans   
who have lost an arm or leg1 fighting   
the battles of the ,revolution1 with a  
bit of white ribbon sticking in their   
button-holes1 which must gnaw into their
 souls worse than the wounds in their   
flesh1 if ,frenchmen did not alike      
disregard the wounds both of their      
bodies and minds4  ,the ,jardin des     
,plantes1 situated at the other         
extremity of ,paris1 on the same side of
 the river1 is well worth the walk      
there4 ,it is delightfully laid out1    
with that mixture of art and nature1 of 
the useful and ornamental1 in which the 
,french excel all the world4 ,every     
plant of every quarter of the globe is  
here1 growing in the open air2 and      
labelled with its common and its        

scientific name on it4 ,a prodigious    
number of animals1 wild and tame1 are   
enclosed in separate divisions1 feeding 
on the grass or shrubs1 and leading a   
life of learned leisure4 ,at least1 they
 have as good a title to this ironical  
compliment as most members of colleges  
and seminaries of learning2 for they    
grow fat and sleek on it4 ,they have a  
great variety of the simious tribe4 ,is 
this necessary in ,france8 ,the         
collection of wild beasts is not equal  
to our ,exeter-#8,change2 nor are they  
confined in iron cages out of doors     
under the shade of their native trees   
7as ,i was told71 but shut up in a range
 of very neatly-constructed and very    
ill-aired apartments4  ,i have already  
mentioned the ,pre la ,chaise--the      
,catacombs ,i have not seen1 nor have ,i
 the least wish4 ,but ,i have been to   
the top of ,mont-,martre1 and intend to 
visit it again4 ,the air there is truly 
vivifying1 and the view inspiring4      
,paris spreads out under your feet on   

one side1 #8with glistering spires and  
pinnacles adorned1' and appears to fill 
the intermediate space1 to the very edge
 of the horizon1 with a sea of hazy or  
sparkling magnificence4 ,all the        
different striking points are marked as 
on a map4 ,london nowhere presents the  
same extent or integrity of appearance4 
,this is either because there is no     
place so near to ,london that looks down
 upon it from the same elevation1 or    
because ,paris is better calculated for 
a panoramic view from the loftier height
 and azure tone of its buildings4 ,its  
form also approaches nearer to a regular
 square4 ,london1 seen either from      
,highgate and ,hampstead1 or from the   
,dulwich side1 looks like a long black  
wreath of smoke1 with the dome of ,st4  
,paul's floating in it4 ,the view on the
 other side ,mont-,martre is also fine1 
and an extraordinary contrast to the    
,paris side--it is clear1 brown1 flat1  
distant1 completely rustic1 full of     
#8low farms and pelting villages4' ,you 

see ,st4 ,denis1 where the ,kings of    
,france lie buried1 and can fancy you   
see ,montmorenci1 where ,rousseau lived1
 whose pen was near being as fatal to   
their race as the scythe of death4 ,on  
this picturesque site1 which so near    
,london would be enriched with noble    
mansions1 there are only a few paltry   
lodging-houses and tottering windmills4 
,so little prone are the ,parisians to  
extricate themselves from the sty of    
,epicurus2 so fond of cabinets of       
society1 of playing at dominoes in the  
coffee-houses1 and of practising the art
 de briller dans les ,salons2 so fond   
are they of this1 that even when the    
,allies were at ,mont-,martre1 they ran 
back to be the first to give an imposing
 account of the attack1 to finish the   
game of the ,revolution1 and make the   
loge of the new order of things4 ,they  
shew you the place where the affair with
 the ,prussians happened1 as--a         
brilliant exploit4 ,when will they be no
 longer liable to such intrusions as    

these1 or to such a result from them8   
,when they get rid of that eternal smile
 upon their countenances1 or of that    
needle-and-thread face1 that is twisted 
into any shape by every circumstance    
that happens1#ca or when they can write 
such lines as the following1 or even    
understand their meaning1 their force or
 beauty1 as a charm to purge their soil 
of insolent foes--theirs only1 because  
the common foes of man6                 
#8,but let thy spiders that suck up thy 
venom1              ,and heavy-gaited   
toads1 lie in their way2                
,doing annoyance to the feet of them    
,that with usurping steps do trample    
thee2              ,yield               
stinging-nettles to mine enemies2       
,and when they from thy bosom pluck a   
flower1              ,guard it1 ,i pray 
thee1 with a lurking adder1             
,whose double tongue may1 with a mortal 
touch1              ,throw death upon   
thy baffled enemies4'  ,no ,parisian's  
sides can #8bear the beating of so      

strong a passion1' as these lines       
contain2 nor have they it in them to    
#8endure to the end for liberty's sake4'
 ,they can never hope to defend the     
political principles which they learnt  
from us1 till they understand our       
poetry1 both of which originate in the  
same cause1 the strength of our livers  
and the stoutness of our hearts4        
,,chapter ,,xi   ,statuary does not     
affect me like painting4 ,i am not1 ,i  
allow1 a fair judge1 having paid a great
 deal more attention to the one than to 
the other4 ,nor did ,i ever think of the
 first as a profession2 and it is that  
perhaps which adds the sting to our love
 of excellence1 the hope of attaining it
 ourselves in any particular walk4 ,we  
strain our faculties to the utmost to   
conceive of what is most exquisite in   
any art to which we devote ourselves1   
and are doubly sensitive to it when we  
see it attained4 ,knowledge may often   
beget indifference1 but here it begets  
zeal4 ,our affections kindled and       

projected forward by the ardour of      
pursuit1 we come to the contemplation of
 truth and beauty with the passionate   
feeling of lovers2 the examples of      
acknowledged excellence before us are   
the steps by which we scale the path of 
distinction1 the spur which urges us on2
 and the admiration which we fondly     
cherish for them is the seed of future  
fame4 ,no wonder that the youthful      
student dwells with delight and rapture 
on the finished works of art1 when they 
are to his heated fancy the pledge and  
foretaste of immortality2 when at every 
successful stroke of imitation he is    
ready to cry out with ,correggio--#8,i  
also am a painter6'--when every         
heightening flush of his enthusiasm is a
 fresh assurance to him of congenial    
powers--and when overlooking the million
 of failures 7that all the world have   
forgot7 or names of inferior note1      
,raphael1 ,titian1 ,guido1 ,salvator are
 each another self4 ,happy union of     
thoughts and destinies1 lovelier than   

the hues of the rainbow6 ,why can it not
 last and span our brief date of life8  
,one reason1 however1 why ,i prefer     
painting to sculpture is1 that painting 
is more like nature4 ,it gives one      
entire and satisfactory view of an      
object at a particular moment of time1  
which sculpture never does4 ,it is not  
the same in reality1 ,i grant2 but it is
 the same in appearance1 which is all we
 are concerned with4 ,a picture wants   
solidity1 a statue wants colour4 ,but we
 see the want of colour as a palpably   
glaring defect1 and we do not see the   
want of solidity1 the effects of which  
to the spectator are supplied by light  
and shadow4 ,a picture is as perfect an 
imitation of nature as is conveyed by a 
looking-glass2 which is all that the eye
 can require1 for it is all it can take 
in for the time being4 ,a fine picture  
resembles a real living man2 the finest 
statue in the world can only resemble a 
man turned to stone4 ,the one is an     
image1 the other a cold abstraction of  

nature4 ,it leaves out half the visible 
impression4 ,there is therefore         
something a little shocking and         
repulsive in this art to the common eye1
 that requires habit and study to       
reconcile us completely to it1 or to    
make it an object of enthusiastic       
devotion4 ,it does not amalgamate kindly
 and at once with our previous          
perceptions and associations4 ,as to the
 comparative difficulty or skill implied
 in the exercise of each art1 ,i cannot 
pretend to judge3 but ,i confess it     
appears to me that statuary must be the 
most trying to the faculties4 ,the idea 
of moulding a limb into shape1 so as to 
be right from every point of view1      
fairly makes my head turn round1 and    
seems to me to enhance the difficulty to
 an infinite degree4 ,there is not only 
the extraordinary circumspection and    
precision required 7enough to distract  
the strongest mind1 as ,i should think71
 but if the chisel1 working in such     
untractable materials1 goes a           

hair's-breadth beyond the mark1 there is
 no remedying it4 ,it is not as in      
painting1 where you may make a thousand 
blots1 and try a thousand experiments1  
efface them all one after the other1 and
 begin anew3 the hand always trembles on
 the brink of a precipice1 and one step 
over is irrecoverable4 ,there is a story
 told1 however1 of ,hogarth and         
,roubilliac1 which1 as far as it goes1  
may be thought to warrant a contrary    
inference4 ,these artists differed about
 the difficulty of their several arts1  
and agreed to decide it by exchanging   
the implements of their profession with 
each other1 and seeing which could do   
best without any regular preparation4   
,hogarth took a piece of clay1 and      
succeeded in moulding a very tolerable  
bust of his friend2 but when            
,roubilliac1 being furnished with paints
 and brushes1 attempted to daub a       
likeness of a human face1 he could make 
absolutely nothing out1 and was obliged 
to own himself defeated4 ,yet           

,roubilliac was a man of talent1 and no 
mean artist4 ,it was he who1 on         
returning from ,rome where he had       
studied the works of ,bernini and the   
antique1 and on going to see his own    
performances in ,westminster ,abbey1    
exclaimed1 that #8they looked like      
tobacco-pipes1 by ,g--d6 #8,what sin had
 this man or his parents committed1 that
 he should forfeit the inalienable      
birthright of every                     
,frenchman--imperturbable1 invincible   
self-sufficiency8 ,the most pleasing and
 natural application of sculpture is1   
perhaps1 to the embellishment of        
churches and the commemoration of the   
dead4 ,i don't know whether they were   
,roubilliac's or not1 but ,i remember   
seeing many years ago in ,westminster   
,abbey 7in the part that is at present  
shut up7 two figures of angels bending  
over a tomb1 that affected me much in   
the same manner that these lines of     
,lord ,byron's have done since--        
#8,and when ,i think that his immortal  

wings               ,shall one day hover
 o'er the sepulchre               ,of   
the poor child of clay that so adored   
him               ,as he adores the     
highest1 ,death becomes                 
,less terrible6'  ,it appears to me that
 sculpture1 though not proper to express
 health or life or motion1 accords      
admirably with the repose of the tomb2  
and that it cannot be better employed   
than in arresting the fleeting dust in  
imperishable forms1 and in embodying a  
lifeless shadow4 ,painting1 on the      
contrary1 from what ,i have seen of it  
in ,catholic countries1 seems to be out 
of its place on the walls of churches2  
it has a flat and flimsy effect         
contrasted with the solidity of the     
building1 and its rich flaunting colours
 harmonize but ill with the solemnity   
and gloom of the surrounding scene4  ,i 
would go a pilgrimage to see the ,st4   
,peter ,martyr1 or the ,jacob's ,dream  
by ,rembrandt1 or ,raphael's ,cartoons1 
or some of ,claude's landscapes2--but ,i

 would not go far out of my way to see  
the ,apollo1 or the ,venus1 or the      
,laocoon4 ,i never cared for them much2 
nor1 till ,i saw the ,elgin ,marbles1   
could ,i tell why1 except for the reason
 just given1 which does not apply to    
these particular statues1 but to        
statuary in general4 ,these are still to
 be found in ,childe ,harold's          
,pilgrimage1 with appropriate           
descriptive stanzas appended to them2#cb
 but they are no longer to be found in  
the ,louvre1 nor do the ,french seem to 
know they ever were there4 ,out of      
sight1 out of mind1 is a happy motto4   
,what is not ,french1 either as done by 
themselves1 or as belonging to them1 is 
of course not worth thinking about4 ,be 
this as it may1 the place is fairly     
emptied out4 ,hardly a trace remains of 
the old ,collection to remind you of    
what is gone4 ,a short list includes all
 of distinguished excellence--the       
admirable bust of ,vitellius1 the fine  
fragment of ,inopus1 a clothed statue of

 ,augustus1 the full-zoned ,venus1 and  
the ,diana and ,fawn1 whose light1 airy 
grace seems to have mocked removal4 ,a  
few more are #8thinly scattered to make 
up a shew1' but the bulk1 the main body 
of the ,grecian mythology1 with the     
flower of their warriors and heroes1    
were carried off by the ,chevalier      
,canova on his shoulders1 a load for    
,hercules6 ,the ,french sculptors have  
nothing of their own to shew for it to  
fill up the gap4 ,like their painters1  
their style is either literal and rigid1
 or affected and burlesque4 ,their merit
 is chiefly confined to the academic    
figure and anatomical skill2 if they go 
beyond this1 and wander into the regions
 of expression1 beauty1 or grace1 they  
are apt to lose themselves4 ,the real   
genius of ,french sculpture is to be    
seen in the curled wigs and swelling    
folds of the draperies in the statues of
 the age of ,louis ,,xiv4 ,there they   
shone unrivalled and alone4 ,they are   
the best man-milliners and friseurs in  

ancient or modern ,europe4 ,that praise 
cannot be denied them2 but it should    
alarm them for their other pretensions4 
,i recollect an essay in the ,moniteur  
some years ago 7very playful and very   
well written7 to prove that a great     
hair-dresser was a greater character    
than ,michael ,angelo or ,phidias2 that 
his art was more an invention1 more a   
creation out of nothing1 and less a     
servile copy of any thing in nature4    
,there was a great deal of ingenuity in 
the reasoning1 and ,i suspect more      
sincerity than the writer was aware of4 
,it expresses1 ,i verily believe1 the   
firm conviction of every true           
,frenchman4 ,in whatever relates to the 
flutter and caprice of fashion1 where   
there is no impulse but vanity1 no limit
 but extravagance1 no rule but want of  
meaning1 they are in their element1 and 
quite at home4 ,beyond that1 they have  
no style of their own1 and are a nation 
of second-hand artists1 poets1 and      
philosophers4 ,nevertheless1 they have  

,voltaire1 ,la ,fontaine1 ,le ,sage1    
,molire1 ,rabelais1 and ,montaigne--good
 men and true1 under whatever class they
 come4 ,they have also ,very and        
,vestris4 ,this is granted4 ,is it not  
enough8 ,i should like to know the thing
 on the face of ,god's earth in which   
they allow other nations to excel them4 
,nor need their sculptors be afraid of  
turning their talents to account1 while 
they can execute pieces of devotion for 
the shrines of ,saints1 and classical   
equivoques for the saloons of the old or
 new ,noblesse4  ,the foregoing remarks 
are general4 ,i shall proceed to mention
 a few exceptions to1 or confirmations  
of them in their ,expos#cc of the       
present year4 ,the ,othryadas wounded   
7,no4 #ahgj71 by ,legendre ,heral1 is1  
,i think1 the least mannered1 and most  
natural4 ,it is a huge figure1 powerful 
and somewhat clumsy 7with the calves of 
the legs as if they had gaiters on71 but
 it has great power and repose in it4   
,it seems as if1 without any effort1 a  

blow from it would crush any antagonist1
 and reminds one of ,virgil's combat of 
,dares and ,entellus4 ,the form of the  
head is characteristic1 and there is a  
fine mixture of sternness and languor in
 the expression of the features4 ,the   
sculptor appears to have had an eye to  
the countenance of the ,dying           
,gladiator2 and the figure1 from its    
ease and massiness1 has some resemblance
 to the ,elgin ,marbles4 ,it is a work  
of great merit4 ,the statue of          
,othryadas erecting the ,trophy to his  
,companions 7,no4 #aggd7 is less        
impressive1 and aims at being more so4  
,it comes under the head of theatrical  
art1 that is of ,french art proper4     
,they cannot long keep out of this4     
,they cannot resist an attitude1 a      
significant effect4 ,they do not        
consider that the definition of         
,sculpture is1 or ought to be1 nearly   
like their own celebrated one of        
,death--an eternal repose6 ,this fault  
may in some measure be found with the   

,hercules recovering the body of ,icarus
 from the ,sea 7,no4 #aijc71 by ,razzi4 
,the body of ,icarus can hardly be said 
to have found a resting-place4          
,otherwise1 the figure is finely        
designed1 and the face is one of        
considerable beauty and expression4 ,the
 ,hercules is a man-mountain4 ,from the 
size and arrangement of this group1 it  
seems more like a precipice falling on  
one's head1 than a piece of sculpture4  
,the effect is not so far pleasant4 ,if 
a complaint lies against this statue on 
the score of unwieldy and enormous size1
 it is relieved by ,no4 #agge1 ,a       
,zephyr thwarting the loves of a        
,butterfly and a ,rose1 ,boyer4 ,here   
,french art is on its legs again1 and in
 the true vignette style4 ,a ,zephyr1 a 
,butterfly1 and a ,rose1 all in one     
group--,charming6 ,in such cases the    
lightness1 the prettiness1 the flutter1 
and the affectation are extreme1 and    
such as no one but themselves will think
 of rivalling4 ,one of their greatest   

and most successful attempts is the     
,grce aux ,prisonniers4 ,no4 #ahjb1 by  
,david4 ,is it not the ,knife-grinder of
 the ancients1 thrown into a more heroic
 attitude1 and with an impassioned      
expression8 ,however this may be1 there 
is real boldness in the design1 and     
animation in the countenance1 a feeling 
of disinterested generosity contending  
with the agonies of death4 ,i cannot    
give much praise to their religious     
subjects in general4 ,the ,french of the
 present day are not bigots1 but        
sceptics in such matters2 and the cold1 
formal indifference of their artists    
appears in their works4 ,the ,christ    
confounding the incredulity of ,st4     
,thomas 7by ,jacquot7 is not calculated 
to produce this effect on anybody else4 
,they treat classical subjects much more
 con amore2 but the mixture of the      
,christian ,faith and of ,pagan         
superstitions is at least as            
reprehensible in the present ,collection
 as in ,milton's ,paradise ,lost4 ,among

 pieces of devotion1 ,the ,virgin and   
,child1 and the ,st4 ,catherine of      
,cortot 7,nos4 #agia-bb7 struck me as   
the best4 ,there is a certain delicacy  
of finishing and graceful womanhood     
about both1 which must make them very   
acceptable accompaniments to ,catholic  
zeal4 ,the ,french excel generally in   
emblematic subjects1 or in whatever     
depends on accuracy and invention in    
costume1 of which there are several     
examples here4 ,what ,i liked best1     
however1 were some of their studies of  
the naked figure1 which have great      
simplicity and ease1 such as a ,nymph   
making a ,garland of ,flowers1 ,no4     
#ahhh 7,parmentier71 and a ,youth going 
to bathe1 ,no4 #ahca 7,espercieux74     
,this last figure1 in particular1       
appears to be really sliding down into  
the bath4 ,cupid tormenting the ,soul   
7after ,chaudet7 is a very clever and   
spirited design1 in bronze4 ,their      
busts1 in general1 are not excellent4   
,there are1 however1 a few exceptions1  

one especially of a ,mademoiselle       
,hersilie de ,f----1 by ,gayrard1 which 
is a perfect representation of nature4  
,it is an unaffected1 admirable         
portrait1 with good humour and good     
sense playing over every feature of the 
face4  ,in fine1 ,i suspect there is    
nothing in the ,french ,saloon of       
,sculpture greatly to stagger or        
entirely to overset the opinion of those
 who have a prejudice against the higher
 pretensions of ,french art4 ,they have 
no masterpieces equal to ,chantry's     
busts1 nor to ,flaxman's learned        
outlines1 nor to the polished elegance  
of ,canova2 to say nothing of the       
exquisite beauty and symmetry of the    
antique1 nor of the ,elgin ,marbles1    
among which the ,theseus sits in form   
like a demi-god1 basking on a golden    
cloud4 ,if ever there were models of the
 ,fine ,arts fitted to give an impulse  
to living genius1 these are they4#cd    
,with enough to teach the truest1       
highest style in art1 they are not in   

sufficient numbers or preservation to   
distract or discourage emulation4 ,with 
these and ,nature for our guides1 we    
might do something in sculpture1 if we  
were not indolent and unapt4 ,the       
,french1 whatever may be their defects1 
cannot be charged with want of labour   
and study4 ,the only charge against them
 7a heavy one1 if true7 is want of taste
 and genius4                            
,,chapter ,,xii   ,the ,french          
themselves think less about their music 
than any other of their pretensions4 ,it
 is almost a sore subject with them2 for
 it interrupts their talking1 and they  
had rather hear nothing about it1 except
 as an accompaniment to a jig4 ,their   
ears are1 in this respect1 in their     
heels1 and it is only the light and     
giddy that they at all endure4 ,they    
have no idea of cadence in any of the   
arts--of the rise and fall of the       
passions--of the elevations or          
depressions of hope or fear in          
poetry--of alternate light or shade in  

pictures--all is reduced 7as nearly as  
possible7 in their minds to the level of
 petty1 vapid self-satisfaction1 or to  
dry and systematic prosing for the      
benefit of others4 ,but they must be    
more particularly at a loss in music1   
which requires the deepest feeling1 and 
admits the least of the impertinence of 
explanation1 which mounts on its own    
raptures and is dissolved in its own    
tenderness2 which has no witness or     
vouchers but the inward sense of        
delight1 and rests its faith on the     
speechless eloquence1 the rich1 circling
 intoxication of inarticulate but       
heart-felt sounds4 ,the ,french have    
therefore no national music1 except a   
few meagre chansons1 and their only idea
 of musical excellence is either        
rapidity or loudness of execution4 ,you 
perceive the effect of this want of     
enthusiasm even in the streets1--they   
have neither barrel-organs nor blind    
fiddlers as with us1 who are willing to 
pay for the encouragement of the arts1  

however indifferently we may practise   
them2 nor does the national spirit break
 out from every strolling party or      
village group1 as it is said to do in   
,italy4 ,a ,french servant-girl1 while  
she is cleaning out a room1 lays down   
her brush to dance--she takes it up to  
finish her work1 and lays it down again 
to dance1 impelled by the lightness of  
her head and of her heels4 ,but you     
seldom hear her sing at her work1 and   
never1 if there is any one within       
hearing to talk to4--,the ,french ,opera
 is a splendid1 but a comparatively     
empty theatre4 ,it is nearly as large   
7,i should think7 as the ,king's        
,theatre in the ,hay-market1 and is in a
 semi-circular form4 ,the pit 7the      
evening ,i was there7 was about half    
full of men1 in their black1 dingy      
sticky-looking dresses2 and there were a
 few plainly-dressed women in the boxes4
 ,but where was that blaze of beauty and
 fashion1 of sparkling complexions and  
bright eyes1 that streams like a galaxy 

from the boxes of our ,opera-house--like
 a ,heaven of loveliness let half-way   
down upon the earth1 and charming #8the 
upturned eyes of wondering mortals1'    
before which the thrilling sounds that  
circle through the ,house seem to       
tremble with delight and drink in new   
rapture from its conscious presence1 and
 to which the mimic ,loves and ,graces  
are proud to pay their distant1 smiling 
homage8 ,certainly it was not here2 nor 
do ,i know where the sun of beauty hides
 itself in ,france4 ,i have seen but    
three rays of it since ,i came1 gilding 
a dark and pitchy cloud6 ,it was not so 
in ,rousseau's time1 for these very     
,loges were filled with the most        
beautiful women of the ,court1 who came 
to see his ,devin du ,village1 and whom 
he heard murmuring around him in the    
softest accents--#8,tous ces sons l vont
 au cur6' ,the change is1 ,i suppose1   
owing to the ,revolution2 but whatever  
it is owing to1 the monks have not1 by  
their return1 banished this conventual  

gloom from their theatres2 nor is there 
any of that airy1 flaunting1 florid1    
butterfly1 gauzy1 variegated appearance 
to be found in them that they have with 
us4 ,these gentlemen still keep up the  
farce of refusing actors burial in      
consecrated ground2 the mob pelt them1  
and the critics are even with them by   
going to see the representation of the  
,tartuffe6  ,i found but little at the  
,royal ,academy of ,music 7as it is     
affectedly called7 to carry off this    
general dulness of effect1 either       
through the excellence or novelty of the
 performances4 ,a ,mademoiselle ,noel   
7who seems to be a favourite7 made her  
debut in ,dido4 ,though there was       
nothing very striking1 there was nothing
 offensive in her representation of the 
character4 ,for any thing that appeared 
in her style of singing or acting1 she  
might be a very pleasing1 modest1       
unaffected ,english girl performing on  
an ,english stage4 ,there was not a     
single trait of ,french bravura or      

grimace4 ,her execution1 however1 seldom
 rose higher than an agreeable          
mediocrity2 and with considerable taste 
and feeling1 her powers seemed to be    
limited4 ,she produced her chief effect 
in the latter and more pathetic scenes1 
and ascended the funeral pile with      
dignity and composure4 ,is it not       
strange 7if contradictions and hasty    
caprices taken up at random1 and laid   
down as laws1 were strange in this      
centre of taste and refinement7 that the
 ,french should raise such an outcry    
against our assaults at arms and        
executions on the stage1 and yet see a  
young and beautiful female prepare to   
give herself the fatal blow1 without    
manifesting the smallest repugnance or  
dissatisfaction8--neas and ,iarbas were 
represented by ,messrs4 ,mourritt and   
,derivis4 ,the first was insipid1 the   
last a perfect ,stentor4 ,he spoke or   
sung all through with an unmitigated    
ferocity of purpose and manner1 and with
 lungs that seemed to have been forged  

expressly for the occasion4 ,ten bulls  
could not bellow louder1 nor a whole    
street-full of frozen-out gardeners at  
,christmas4 ,his barbarous tunic and    
accoutrements put one strongly in mind  
of ,robinson ,crusoe1 while the modest  
demeanour and painted complexion of the 
pious neas bore a considerable analogy  
to the submissive advance and rosy      
cheeks of that usual accompaniment of   
,english travelling1 who ushers himself 
into the room at intervals1 with awkward
 bows1 and his hat twirled round in his 
hands1 #8to hope you'll remember the    
coachman4' ,the neas of the poet1       
however1 was a shabby fellow1 and had   
but justice done him4  ,i had leisure   
during this otiose performance to look  
around me1 and as #8it is my vice to spy
 into abuses1' the first thing that     
struck me was the prompter4 ,any        
,frenchman who has that sum at his      
disposal1 should give ten thousand      
francs a year for this situation4 ,it   
must be a source of ecstasy to him4 ,for

 not an instant was he quiet--tossing   
his hands in the air1 darting them to   
the other side of the score which he    
held before him in front of the stage1  
snapping his fingers1 nodding his head1 
beating time with his feet2 and this not
 mechanically1 or as if it were a       
drudgery he was forced to go through1   
and would be glad to have done with1 but
 with unimpaired glee and vehemence of  
gesture1 jerking1 twisting1 fidgeting1  
wriggling1 starting1 stamping1 as if the
 incessant motion had fairly turned his 
head1 and every muscle in his frame were
 saturated with the spirit of           
quicksilver4 ,to be in continual motion 
for four hours1 and to direct the       
motions of others by the wagging of a   
finger1 to be not only an object of     
important attention to the stage and    
orchestra1 but 7in his own imagination7 
to pit1 boxes1 and gallery1 as the pivot
 on which the whole grand machinery of  
that grandest of all machines1 the      
,french ,opera1 turns--this is indeed1  

for a ,parisian1 the acme of felicity6  
,every nerve must thrill with electrical
 satisfaction1 and every pore into which
 vanity can creep tingle with           
self-conceit6 ,not far from this        
restless automaton 7as if extremes met1 
or the volatility of youth subsided into
 a sort of superannuated still-life7 sat
 an old gentleman in front of the pit1  
with his back to me1 a white powdered   
head1 the curls sticking out behind1 and
 a coat of the finest black4 ,this was  
all ,i saw of him for some time--he did 
not once turn his head or shift his     
position1 any more than a wig and coat  
stuck upon a barber's block--till ,i    
suddenly missed him1 and soon after saw 
him seated on the opposite side of the  
house1 his face as yellow and hard as a 
piece of mahogany1 but without          
expressing either pleasure or pain4     
,neither the fiddlers' elbows nor the   
dancers' legs moved him one jot4 ,his   
fiddling fancies and his dancing-days   
were flown1 and had left this shadow1   

this profile1 this mummy of a ,french   
gentleman of the old rgime behind4 ,a   
,frenchman has no object in life but to 
talk and move with clat1 and when he    
ceases to do either1 he has no heart to 
do any thing4 ,deprived of his vivacity1
 his thoughtlessness1 his animal        
spirits1 he becomes a piece of costume1 
a finely-powdered wig1 an embroidered   
coat1 a pair of shoe-buckles1 a gold    
cane1 or a snuff-box4 ,drained of mere  
sensations and of their youthful blood1 
the old fellows seem like the ghosts of 
the young ones1 and have none of their  
overweening offensiveness1 or teasing   
officiousness4 ,i can hardly conceive of
 a young ,french gentleman1 nor of an   
old one who is otherwise4 ,the latter   
come up to my ideal of this character1  
cut1 as it were1 out of pasteboard1     
moved on springs1 amenable to forms1    
crimped and starched like a cravat1     
without a single tart ebullition1 or    
voluntary motion4 ,some of them may be  
seen at present gliding along the walks 

of the ,tuileries1 and the sight of them
 is good for sore eyes4 ,they are also  
thinly sprinkled through the play-house2
 for the drama and the belles-lettres   
were in their time the amusement and the
 privilege of the ,court1 and the       
contrast of their powdered heads and    
pale faces makes the rest of the        
audience appear like a set of greasy1   
impudent mechanics4 ,a ,frenchman is    
nothing without powder1 an ,englishman  
is nothing with it4 ,the character of   
the one is artificial1 that of the other
 natural4 ,the women of ,france do not  
submit to the regular approaches and the
 sober discipline of age so well as the 
men4 ,i had rather be in company with an
 old ,french gentleman than a young one2
 ,i prefer a young ,frenchwoman to an   
old one4 ,they aggravate the            
encroachments of age by contending with 
them1 and instead of displaying the     
natural graces and venerable marks of   
that period of life1 paint and patch    
their wrinkled faces1 and toupee and    

curl their grizzled locks1 till they    
look like ,friesland hens1 and are a    
caricature and burlesque of themselves4 
,the old women in ,france that figure at
 the theatre or elsewhere1 have very    
much the appearance of having kept a    
tavern or a booth at a fair1 or of      
having been mistresses of a place of    
another description1 for the greater    
part of their lives4 ,a mannish hardened
 look and character survives the wreck  
of beauty and of female delicacy4  ,of  
all things that ,i see here1 it         
surprises me the most that the ,french  
should fancy they can dance4 ,to dance  
is to move with grace and harmony to    
music4 ,but the ,french1 whether men or 
women1 have no idea of dancing but that 
of moving with agility1 and of          
distorting their limbs in every possible
 way1 till they really alter the        
structure of the human form4 ,by grace  
,i understand the natural movements of  
the human body1 heightened into dignity 
or softened into ease1 each posture or  

step blending harmoniously into the     
rest4 ,there is grace in the waving of  
the branch of a tree or in the bounding 
of a stag1 because there is freedom and 
unity of motion4 ,but the ,french       
,opera-dancers think it graceful to     
stand on one leg or on the points of    
their toes1 or with one leg stretched   
out behind them1 as if they were going  
to be shod1 or to raise one foot at     
right angles with their bodies1 and     
twirl themselves round like a te-totum1 
to see how long they can spin1 and then 
stop short all of a sudden2 or to skim  
along the ground1 flat-footed1 like a   
spider running along a cobweb1 or to pop
 up and down like a pea on a            
tobacco-pipe1 or to stick in their backs
 till another part projects out behind  
comme des volails1 and to strut about   
like peacocks with infirm1 vain-glorious
 steps1 or to turn out their toes till  
their feet resemble apes1 or to raise   
one foot above their heads1 and turn    
swiftly round upon the other1 till the  

petticoats of the female dancers 7for ,i
 have been thinking of them7 rise above 
their garters1 and display a pair of    
spindle-shanks1 like the wooden ones of 
a wax-doll1 just as shapeless and as    
tempting4 ,there is neither             
voluptuousness nor grace in a single    
attitude or movement1 but a very        
studious and successful attempt to shew 
in what a number of uneasy and difficult
 positions the human body can be put    
with the greatest rapidity of evolution4
 ,it is not that they do all this with  
much more to redeem it1 but they do all 
this1 and do nothing else4 ,it would be 
very well as an exhibition of tumbler's 
tricks1 or as rope-dancing 7which are   
only meant to surprise71 but it is bad  
as ,opera-dancing1 if opera-dancing     
aspires to be one of the ,fine ,arts1 or
 even a handmaid to them2 that is1 to   
combine with mechanical dexterity a     
sense of the beautiful in form and      
motion1 and a certain analogy to        
sentiment4 #8,the common people1' says  

the ,author of ,waverley1 #8always      
prefer exertion and agility to grace4'  
,is that the case also with the most    
refined people upon earth8 ,these antics
 and vagaries1 this kicking of heels and
 shaking of feet as if they would come  
off1 might be excusable in the men1 for 
they shew a certain strength and        
muscular activity2 but in the female    
dancers they are unpardonable4 ,what is 
said of poetry might be applied to the  
sex4 ,non satis est pulchra poemata     
esse1 dulcia sunto4 ,so women who appear
 in public1 should be soft and lovely as
 well as skilful and active1 or they    
ought not to appear at all4 ,they owe it
 to themselves and others4 ,as to some  
of the ridiculous extravagances of this 
theatre1 such as turning out their toes 
and holding back their shoulders1 one   
would have thought the ,greek statues   
might have taught their scientific      
professors better--if ,french artists   
did not see every thing with ,french    
eyes1 and lament all that differs from  

their established practice as a         
departure from the line of beauty4 ,they
 are sorry that the ,venus does not hold
 up her head like a boarding-school     
miss--                    #8,and would  
ask the ,apollo to dance6'  ,in three   
months' practice1 and with proper       
tuition1 ,greek forms would be ,french1 
and they would be                       
perfect6--,mademoiselles ,fanny and     
,noblet1 ,i kiss your hands2 but ,i have
 no pardon to beg of ,madame ,le        
,gallois1 for she looked like a lady    
7very tightly laced7 in the ballet1 and 
played like a heroine in the pantomime  
part of ,la ,folle par ,amour4 ,there   
was a violent start at the first        
indication of her madness1 that alarmed 
me a little1 but all that followed was  
natural1 modest1 and affecting in a high
 degree4 ,the ,french turn their        
,opera-stage into a mad-house2 they turn
 their mad-houses 7at least they have   
one constructed on this principle7 into 
theatres of gaiety1 where they rehearse 

ballets1 operas1 and plays4 ,if dancing 
were an antidote to madness1 one would  
think the ,french would be always in    
their right senses4  ,i was told ,i     
ought to see ,nina1 or ,la ,folle par   
,amour at the ,salle ,louvois1 or       
,italian ,theatre4 ,if ,i went for that 
purpose1 it would be rather with a wish 
than from any hope of seeing it better  
done4 ,i went however4                  
#8,oh for a beaker full of the warm     
,south6'  ,it was to see the ,gazza     
,ladra4 ,the house was full1 the evening
 sultry1 a hurry and bustle in the      
lobbies1 an eagerness in the looks of   
the assembled crowd4 ,the audience      
seemed to be in earnest1 and to have    
imbibed an interest from the place4 ,on 
the stage there were rich dresses and   
voices1 the tones of passion1 ease1     
nature1 animation2 in short1 the scene  
had a soul in it4 ,one wondered how one 
was in ,paris1 with their pasteboard    
maps of the passions1 and thin-skinned1 
dry-lipped humour4 ,signora ,mombelli   

played the humble1 but interesting      
heroine charmingly1 with truth1         
simplicity1 and feeling4 ,her voice is  
neither rich nor sweet1 but it is clear 
as a bell4 ,signor ,pellegrini played   
the intriguing ,magistrate1 with a      
solemnity and farcical drollery1 that ,i
 would not swear is much inferior to    
,liston4 ,but ,i swear1 that ,brunet    
7whom ,i saw the other night1 and had   
seen before without knowing it7 is not  
equal to ,liston4 ,yet he is a feeble1  
quaint diminutive of that original4 ,he 
squeaks and gibbers oddly enough at the 
,thtre des ,varits1 like a mouse in the 
hollow of a musty cheese1 his small eyes
 peering out1 and his sharp teeth       
nibbling at the remains of some faded   
joke4 ,the ,french people of quality go 
to the ,italian ,opera1 but they do not 
attend to it4 ,the tabbies of the ,court
 are tabbies still2 and took no notice  
of what was passing on the stage on this
 occasion1 till the tolling of the bell 
made a louder and more disagreeable     

noise than themselves2 this they seemed 
to like4 ,they behave well at their own 
theatres1 but it would be a breach of   
etiquette to do so anywhere else4 ,a    
girl in the gallery 7an ,italian by her 
complexion1 and from her interest in the
 part7 was crying bitterly at the story 
of the ,maid and the ,magpie1 while     
three ,frenchmen1 in the ,troisime      
,loge1 were laughing at her the whole   
time4 ,i said to one of them1 #8,it was 
not a thing to laugh at1 but to admire4'
 ,he turned away1 as if the remark did  
not come within his notions of          
sentiment4 ,this did not stagger me in  
my theory of the ,french character2 and 
when one is possessed of nothing but a  
theory1 one is glad1 not sorry to keep  
it1 though at the expense of others4#ce 
,,chapter ,,xiii   ,we left ,paris in   
the ,diligence1 and arrived at          
,fontainbleau the first night4 ,the     
accommodations at the inn were          
indifferent1 and not cheap4 ,the palace 
is a low straggling mass of very old    

buildings1 having been erected by ,st4  
,louis in the #abth century1 whence he  
used to date his ,rescripts1 #8,from my 
,deserts of ,fontainbleau6' ,it puts one
 in mind of ,monkish legends1 of faded  
splendour1 of the leaden spouts and     
uncouth stone-cherubim of a country     
church-yard4 ,it is empty or gaudy      
within1 stiff and heavy without4 ,henry 
,,iv4 figures on the walls with the fair
 ,gabrielle1 like the ,tutelary ,satyr  
of the place1 keeping up the remembrance
 of old-fashioned royalty and gallantry4
 ,they here shew you the table 7a plain 
round piece of mahogany7 on which       
,buonaparte in #ahad signed the         
abdication of the human race1 in favour 
of the hereditary proprietors of the    
species4 ,we walked forward a mile or   
two before the coach the next day on the
 road to ,montargis4 ,it presents a     
long1 broad1 and stately avenue without 
a turning1 as far as the eye can reach1 
and is skirted on each side by a wild1  
woody1 rocky scenery4 ,the birch-trees1 

with their grey stems and light         
glittering branches1 silvered over the  
darker back-ground1 and afforded a      
striking contrast to the brown earth and
 green moss beneath4 ,there was a       
stillness in the woods1 which affects   
the mind the more in objects whose very 
motion is gentleness4 ,the day was dull1
 but quite mild1 though in the middle of
 ,january4 ,the situation of            
,fontainbleau is certainly interesting  
and fine4 ,it stands in the midst of an 
extensive forest1 intersected with      
craggy precipices and rugged ranges of  
hills2 and the various roads leading to 
or from it are cut out of a wilderness1 
which a hermit might inhabit4 ,the      
approach to the different towns in      
,france has1 in this respect1 the       
advantage over ours2 for1 from burning  
wood instead of coal1 they must have    
large woods in the neighbourhood1 which 
clothe the country round them1 and      
afford1 as ,pope expresses it1          
#8,in summer shade1 in winter fire4'    

,we dig our fuel out of the bowels of   
the earth1 and have a greater portion of
 its surface left at our disposal1 which
 we devote not to ornament1 but use4 ,a 
copse-wood or an avenue of trees        
however1 makes a greater addition to the
 beauty of a town than a coal-pit or a  
steam-engine in its vicinity4  ,when the
 ,diligence came up1 and we took our    
seats in the coup 7which is that part of
 a ,french stage-coach which resembles  
an old shattered post-chaise1 placed in 
front of the main body of it7 we found a
 ,french lady occupying the third place 
in it1 whose delight at our entrance was
 as great as if we had joined her on    
some desert island1 and whose           
mortification was distressing when she  
learnt we were not going the whole way  
with her4 ,she complained of the cold of
 the night air2 but this she seemed to  
dread less than the want of company4    
,she said she had been deceived1 for she
 had been told the coach was full1 and  
was in despair that she should not have 

a soul to speak to all the way to       
,lyons4 ,we got out1 notwithstanding1 at
 the inn at ,montargis1 where we met    
with a very tolerable reception1 and    
were waited on at supper by one of those
 ,maritorneses that perfectly astonish  
an ,english traveller4 ,her joy at our  
arrival was as extreme as if her whole  
fortune depended on it4 ,she laughed1   
danced1 sung1 fairly sprung into the    
air1 bounced into the room1 nearly      
overset the table1 hallooed and talked  
as loud as if she had been alternately  
ostler and chamber-maid4 ,she was as    
rough and boisterous as any country     
bumpkin at a wake or statute-fair2 and  
yet so full of rude health and animal   
spirits1 that you were pleased instead  
of being offended4 ,in ,england1 a girl 
with such boorish manners would not be  
borne2 but her good-humour kept pace    
with her coarseness1 and she was as     
incapable of giving as of feeling pain4 
,there is something in the air in       
,france that carries off the blue       

devils6  ,the mistress of the inn1      
however1 was a little peaking1 pining   
woman1 with her face wrapped up in      
flannel1 and not quite so inaccessible  
to nervous impressions2 and when ,i     
asked the girl1 #8,what made her speak  
so loud8' she answered for her1 #8,to   
make people deaf6' ,this side-reproof   
did not in the least moderate the brazen
 tones of her help-mate1 but rather gave
 a new fillip to her spirits2 though she
 was less on the alert than the night   
before1 and appeared to the full as much
 bent on arranging her curls in the     
looking-glass when she came into the    
room1 as on arranging the breakfast     
things on the tea-board4  ,we staid here
 till one o'clock on ,sunday 7the       
#afth17 waiting the arrival of the      
,lyonnais1 in which we had taken our    
places forward1 and which ,i thought    
would never arrive4 ,let no man trust to
 a placard stuck on the walls of ,paris1
 advertising the cheapest and most      
expeditious mode of conveyance to all   

parts of the world4 ,it may be no better
 than a snare to the unwary4 ,the       
,lyonnais1 ,i thought from the          
advertisement1 was the ,swift-sure of   
,diligences4 ,it was to arrive ten hours
 before any other ,diligence2 it was the
 most compact1 the most elegant of      
modern vehicles4 ,from the description  
and the print of it1 it seemed #8a thing
 of life1' a minion of the fancy4 ,to   
see it stand in a state of disencumbered
 abstraction1 it appeared a             
self-impelling machine2 or if it needed 
aid1 was horsed1 unlike your ,paris     
,diligences1 by nimble1 airy ,pegasuses4
 ,to look at the fac-simile of it that  
was put into your hand1 you would say it
 might run or fly--might traverse the   
earth1 or whirl you through the air1    
without let or impediment1 so light was 
it to outward appearance in structure   
#8fit for speed succinct'--a chariot for
 ,puck or ,ariel to ride in6 ,this was  
the account ,i had 7or something like   
it7 from ,messieurs the ,proprietors at 

the ,cour des ,fontaines4 #8,mark how a 
plain tale shall put them down4' ,those 
gentlemen came to me after ,i had paid  
for two places as far as ,nevers1 to ask
 me to resign them in favour of two     
,englishmen1 who wished to go the whole 
way1 and to re-engage them for the      
following evening4 ,i said ,i could not 
do that2 but as ,i had a dislike to     
travelling at night1 ,i would go on to  
,montargis by some other conveyance1 and
 proceed by the ,lyonnais1 which would  
arrive there at eight or nine on ,sunday
 morning1 as far as ,i could that night4
 ,i set out on the faith of this        
understanding4 ,i had some difficulty in
 finding the ,office sur la place1 to   
which ,i had been directed1 and which   
was something between a stable1 a       
kitchen1 and a cook-shop4 ,i was led to 
it by a shabby double or counterpart of 
the ,lyonnais1 which stood before the   
door1 empty1 dirty1 bare of luggage1    
waiting the ,paris one1 which had not   
yet arrived4 ,it drove into town four   

hours afterwards1 with three foundered  
hacks1 with the postilion and           
,conducteur for its complement of       
passengers1 the last occupying the left 
hand corner of the coup in solitary     
state1 with a whisp of straw thrust     
through a broken pane of one of the     
front windows1 and a tassel of blue and 
yellow fringe hanging out of the other2 
and with that mixture of despondency and
 fiert in his face1 which long and      
uninterrupted pondering on the state of 
the way-bill naturally produces in such 
circumstances4 ,he seized upon me and my
 trunks as lawful prize2 he afterwards  
insisted on my going forward in the     
middle of the night to ,lyons1 7contrary
 to my agreement17 and ,i was obliged to
 comply1 or to sleep upon trusses of    
straw in a kind of out-house4 ,we       
quarrelled incessantly1 but ,i could not
 help laughing1 for he sometimes looked 
like my old acquaintance1 ,dr4 ,s41 and 
sometimes like my friend1 ,a---- ,h----1
 of ,edinburgh4 ,he said we should reach

 ,lyons the next evening1 and we got    
there twenty-four hours after the time4 
,he told me for my comfort1 the reason  
of his being so late was1 that two of   
his horses had fallen down dead on the  
road4 ,he had to raise relays of horses 
all the way1 as if we were travelling   
through a hostile country2 quarrelled   
with all the postilions about an        
abatement of a few sous2 and once our   
horses were arrested in the middle of   
the night by a farmer who refused to    
trust him2 and he had to go before the  
,mayor1 as soon as day broke4 ,we were  
quizzed by the post-boys1 the           
innkeepers1 the peasants all along the  
road1 as a shabby concern2 our          
,conducteur bore it all1 like another   
,candide4 ,we stopped at all the worst  
inns in the outskirts of the towns1     
where nothing was ready2 or when it was1
 was not eatable4 ,the second morning we
 were to breakfast at ,moulins2 when we 
alighted1 our guide told us it was      
eleven3 the clock in the kitchen pointed

 to three4 ,as he laughed in my face    
when ,i complained of his misleading me1
 ,i told him that he was #8un impudent1'
 and this epithet sobered him the rest  
of the way4 ,as we left ,moulins1 the   
crimson clouds of evening streaked the  
west1 and ,i had time to think of       
,sterne's ,maria4 ,the people at the    
inn1 ,i suspect1 had never heard of her4
 ,there was no trace of romance about   
the house4 ,certainly1 mine was not a   
,sentimental ,journey4 ,is it not       
provoking to come to a place1 that has  
been consecrated by #8famous poet's     
pen1' as a breath1 a name1 a            
fairy-scene1 and find it a dull1 dirty  
town8 ,let us leave the realities to    
shift for themselves1 and think only of 
those bright tracts that have been      
reclaimed for us by the fancy1 where the
 perfume1 the sound1 the vision1 and the
 joy still linger1 like the soft light  
of evening skies6 ,is the story of      
,maria the worse1 because ,i am         
travelling a dirty road in a rascally   

,diligence8 ,or is it an injury done us 
by the author to have invented for us   
what we should not have met with in     
reality8 ,has it not been read with     
pleasure by thousands of readers1 though
 the people at the inn had never heard  
of it8 ,yet ,sterne would have been     
vexed to find that the fame of his      
,maria had never reached the little town
 of ,moulins4 ,we are always            
dissatisfied with the good we have1 and 
always punished for our                 
unreasonableness4  ,at ,palisseau 7the  
road is rich in melodramatic            
recollections7 it became pitch-dark2 you
 could not see your hand2 ,i entreated  
to have the lamp lighted2 our           
,conducteur said it was broken 7cass74  
,with much persuasion1 and the ordering 
a bottle of their best wine1 which went 
round among the people at the inn1 we   
got a lantern with a rushlight in it1   
but the wind soon blew it out1 and we   
went on our way darkling2 the road lay  
over a high hill1 with a loose muddy    

bottom between two hedges1 and as we did
 not attempt to trot or gallop1 we came 
safe to the level ground on the other   
side4 ,we breakfasted at ,rouane1 where 
we were first shewn into the kitchen1   
while they were heating a suffocating   
stove in a squalid salle  manger4       
,there1 while ,i was sitting half dead  
with cold and fatigue1 a boy came and   
scraped a wooden dresser close at my    
ear1 with a noise to split one's brain1 
and with true ,french nonchalance2 and a
 portly landlady1 who had risen just as 
we had done breakfasting1 ushered us to 
our carriage with the airs and graces of
 a ,madame ,maintenon4 ,in ,france you  
meet with the court address in a        
stable-yard4 ,in other countries you may
 find grace in a cottage or a           
wilderness2 but it is simple1           
unconscious grace1 without the          
full-blown pride and strut of mannered  
confidence and presumption4 ,a woman in 
,france is graceful by going out of her 
sphere2 not by keeping within it4--,in  

crossing the bridge at ,rouane1 the sun 
shone brightly on the river and         
shipping1 which had a busy cheerful     
aspect2 and we began to ascend the      
,bourbonnois under more flattering      
auspices4 ,we got out and walked slowly 
up the sounding road4 ,i found that the 
morning air refreshed and braced my     
spirits2 and that even the continued    
fatigue of the journey1 which ,i had    
dreaded as a hazardous experiment1 was a
 kind of seasoning to me4 ,i was less   
exhausted than the first day4 ,i will   
venture to say1 that for an invalid1    
sitting up all night is better than     
lying in bed all day4 ,hardships1       
however dreadful to nervous             
apprehensions1 by degrees give us       
strength and resolution to endure them3 
whereas effeminacy softens and renders  
us less and less capable of encountering
 pain or difficulty4 ,it is the love of 
indulgence1 or the shock of the first   
privation or effort1 that confirms      
almost all the weaknesses of body or    

mind4 ,as we loitered up the long1      
winding ascent of the road from ,rouane1
 we occasionally approached the brink of
 some ,alpine declivity tufted with pine
 trees1 and noticed the white villas1   
clustering or scattered1 which in all   
directions spotted the very summits of  
that vast and gradual amphitheatre of   
hills which overlooked the neighbouring 
town4 ,the ,bourbonnois is the first    
large chain of hills piled one upon     
another1 and extending range beyond     
range1 that you come to on the route to 
,italy1 and that occupy a wide-spread   
district1 like a mighty conqueror1 with 
uniform and growing magnificence4 ,to   
those who have chiefly seen detached    
mountains or abrupt precipices rising   
from the level surface of the ground1   
the effect is exceedingly imposing and  
grand4 ,the descent on the other side   
into ,tarare is more sudden and         
dangerous2 and you avoid passing over   
the top of the mountain 7along which the
 road formerly ran7 by one of those     

fine1 broad1 firmly-cemented roads with 
galleries and bridges1 which bespeak at 
once the master-hand that raised them4  
,tarare is a neat little town1 famous   
for the manufacture of serges and       
calicoes4 ,we had to stop here for      
three-quarters of an hour1 waiting for  
fresh horses2 and as we sat in the coup 
in this helpless state1 the horses taken
 out1 the sun shining in1 and the wind  
piercing through every cranny of the    
broken panes and rattling sash-windows1 
the postilion came up and demanded to   
know if we were ,english1 as there were 
two ,english gentlemen who would be glad
 to see us4 ,i excused myself from      
getting out1 but said ,i should be happy
 to speak to them4 ,accordingly1 my     
informant beckoned to a young man in    
black1 who was standing at a little     
distance in a state of anxious          
expectation1 and who coming to the      
coach-door said1 he presumed we were    
from ,london1 and that he had taken the 
liberty to pay his respects to us4 ,his 

friend1 he said1 who was staying with   
him1 was ill in bed1 or he would have   
done himself the same pleasure4 ,he had 
on a pair of wooden clogs1 turned up and
 pointed at the toes in the manner of   
the country 7which he recommended to me 
as useful for climbing the hills if ever
 ,i should come into those parts7 warm  
worsted mittens1 and had a thin1        
genteel1 shivering aspect4 ,i expected  
every moment he would tell me his name  
or business2 but all ,i learnt was that 
he and his friend had been here some    
time1 and that they could not get away  
till spring1 that there were no         
entertainments1 that trade was flat1 and
 that the ,french seemed to him a very  
different people from the ,english4 ,the
 fact is1 he found himself quite at a   
loss in a ,french country-town1 and had 
no other resource or way of amusing     
himself1 than by looking out for the    
,diligences as they passed1 and trying  
to hear news from ,england4 ,he stood at
 his own door1 and waved his hand with a

 melancholy air as we rode by1 and no   
doubt instantly went up stairs to       
communicate to his sick friend1 that he 
had conversed with two ,english people4 
,our delay at ,tarare had deprived us of
 nearly an hour of daylight2 and1       
besides1 the miserable foundered jades  
of horses1 that we had to get on with in
 this paragon of ,diligences1 were quite
 unequal to the task of dragging it up  
and down the hills on the road to       
,lyons1 which was still twenty miles    
distant4 ,the night was dark1 and we had
 no light4 ,i found it was quite        
hopeless when we should reach our       
journey's end 7if we did not break our  
necks by the way7 and that both were    
matters of very great indifference to   
,mons4 le ,conducteur1 who was only bent
 on saving the pockets of ,messieurs his
 employers1 and who had no wish1 like   
me1 to see the ,vatican6 ,he affected to
 make bargains for horses1 which always 
failed and added to our delay2 and      
lighted his lantern once or twice1 but  

it always went out4 ,at last ,i said    
that ,i had intended to give him a      
certain sum for himself1 but that if we 
did not arrive in ,lyons by ten o'clock 
at night1 he might depend upon it ,i    
would not give him a single farthing4   
,this had the desired effect4 ,he got   
out at the next village we came to1 and 
three stout horses were fastened to the 
harness4 ,he also procured a large piece
 of candle 7with a reserve of another   
piece of equal length and thickness in  
his lantern7 and held it in his hand the
 whole way1 only shifting it from one   
hand to the other1 as he grew tired1 and
 biting his lips and making wry faces at
 this new office of a candelabrum1 which
 had been thrust upon him much against  
his will4 ,i was not sorry1 for he was  
one of the most disagreeable ,frenchmen 
,i ever met with1 having all the        
indifference and self-sufficiency of his
 countrymen with none of their usual    
obligingness4 ,he seemed to me a person 
out of his place 7a thing you rarely    

discover in ,france7--a broken-down     
tradesman1 or #8one that had had        
misfortunes1' and who neither liked nor 
was fit for his present situation of    
,conducteur to a ,diligence without     
funds1 without horses1 and without      
passengers4 ,we arrived in safety at    
,lyons at eleven o'clock at night1 and  
were conducted to the ,hotel des        
,couriers1 where we1 with some          
difficulty1 procured a lodging and a    
supper1 and were attended by a brown1   
greasy1 dark-haired1 good-humoured1     
awkward gypsey of a wench from the south
 of ,france1 who seemed just caught2    
stared and laughed1 and forgot every    
thing she went for2 could not help      
exclaiming every moment--#8,que ,madame 
a le peau blanc6' from the contrast to  
her own dingy complexion and dirty skin1
 took a large brass-pan of scalding     
milk1 came and sat down by me on a      
bundle of wood1 and drank it2 said she  
had had no supper1 for her head ached1  
and declared the ,english were braves   

gens1 and that the ,bourbons were bons  
enfans1 started up to look through the  
key-hole1 and whispered through her     
broad strong-set teeth1 that a fine     
,madam was descending the staircase1 who
 had been to dine with a great          
gentleman1 offered to take away the     
supper things1 left them1 and called us 
the next morning with her head and      
senses in a state of even greater       
confusion than they were over-night4    
,the familiarity of common servants in  
,france surprises the ,english at first2
 but it has nothing offensive in it1 any
 more than the good natured gambols and 
freedoms of a ,newfoundland dog4 ,it is 
quite natural4  ,lyons is a fine1 dirty 
town4 ,the streets are good1 but so high
 and narrow1 that they look like sinks  
of filth and gloom4 ,the shops are mere 
dungeons4 ,yet two noble rivers water   
the city1 the ,rhone and the ,saone--the
 one broad and majestic1 the other more 
confined and impetuous in its course1   
and join a little below the town to pour

 their friendly streams into the        
,mediterranean4 ,the square is spacious 
and handsome1 and the heights of ,st4   
,just1 that overlook it1 command a fine 
view of the town1 the bridges1 both     
rivers1 the hills of ,provence1 the road
 to ,chambery1 and the ,alps1 with their
 snowy tops propping the clouds4 ,the   
sight of them effectually deterred me   
from attempting to go by ,geneva and the
 ,simplon2 and we were contented 7for   
this time7 with the humbler passage of  
,mount ,cenis4 ,here is the ,hotel de   
,notre ,dme de ,pit1 which is shewn you 
as the inn where ,rousseau stopped on   
his way to ,paris1 when he went to      
overturn the ,french ,monarchy by the   
force of style4 ,i thought of him1 as we
 came down the mountain of ,tarare1 in  
his gold-laced hat1 and with his jet    
d'eau playing4 ,if they could but have  
known who was coming1 how many          
battalions would have been sent out to  
meet him2 what a ringing of alarm-bells1
 what a beating of drums1 what raising  

of drawbridges1 what barring of gates1  
what examination of passports1 what     
processions of priests1 what meetings of
 magistrates1 what confusion in the     
towns1 what a panic through the country1
 what telegraphic despatches to the     
,court of ,versailles1 what couriers    
posting to all parts of ,europe1 what   
manifestoes from armies1 what a hubbub  
of ,holy ,alliances1 and all for what8  
,to prevent one man from speaking what  
he and every other man felt1 and whose  
only fault was that the beatings of the 
human heart had found an echo in his    
pen6 ,at ,lyons ,i saw this inscription 
over a door3 ,ici on trouve le seul et  
unique dept de l'encre sans pareil et   
incorruptible--which appeared to me to  
contain the whole secret of ,french     
poetry4 ,i went into a shop to buy ,m4  
,martine's ,death of ,socrates1 which ,i
 saw in the window1 but they would      
neither let me have that copy nor get me
 another4 ,the ,french are not #8a      
nation of shopkeepers4' ,they had quite 

as lieve see you walk out of their shops
 as come into them4 ,while ,i was       
waiting for an answer1 a ,french servant
 in livery brought in four volumes of   
the ,history of a ,foundling1 an        
improved translation1 in which it was   
said the morceaux omitted by ,m4 de la  
,place were restored4 ,i was pleased to 
see my old acquaintance ,tom ,jones1    
with his ,french coat on4 ,the poetry of
 ,m4 ,alphonse ,martine and of ,m4      
,casimir de la ,vigne circulates in the 
provinces and in ,italy1 through the    
merit of the authors and the favour of  
the critics4 ,l4 ,h4 tells me that the  
latter is a great ,bonapartist1 and     
talks of #8the tombs of the brave4' ,he 
said ,i might form some idea of ,m4     
,martine's attempts to be great and     
unfrenchified by the frontispiece to one
 of his poems1 in which a young         
gentleman in an heroic attitude is      
pointing to the sea in a storm1 with his
 other hand round a pretty girl's waist4
 ,i told ,h4 this poet had lately       

married a lady of fortune4 ,he said1    
#8,that's the girl4' ,he also said very 
well1 ,i thought1 that #8the ,french    
seemed born to puzzle the ,germans4'    
,why are there not salt-spoons in       
,france8 ,in ,england it is a piece of  
barbarism to put your knife into a      
salt-cellar with another4 ,but in       
,france the distinction between         
grossness and refinement is done away4  
,every thing there is refined6          
,,chapter ,,xiv   ,there was a          
,diligence next day for ,turin over     
,mount ,cenis1 which went only twice a  
week 7stopping at night7 and ,i was glad
 to secure 7as ,i thought7 two places in
 the interior at seventy francs a seat1 
for #bdj miles4 ,the fare from ,paris to
 ,lyons1 a distance of #cfj miles1 was  
only fifty francs each1 which is four   
times as cheap2 but the difference was  
accounted for to me1 from there being no
 other conveyance1 which was an         
arbitrary reason1 and from the number   
and expense of horses necessary to drag 

a heavy double coach over mountainous   
roads4 ,besides1 it was a ,royal        
,messagerie1 and ,i was given to        
understand that ,messrs4 ,bonnafoux paid
 the ,king of ,sardinia a thousand      
crowns a year for permission to run a   
,diligence through his territories4 ,the
 knave of a waiter 7,i found7 had       
cheated me2 and that from ,chambery     
there was only one place in the interior
 and one in the coup1 which turned out  
to be a cabriolet1 a place in front with
 a leathern apron and curtains1 which in
 winter time1 and in travelling over    
snowy mountains and through icy valleys1
 was not a situation #8devoutly to be   
wished4' ,i had no other resource1      
however1 having paid my four pounds in  
advance at the over-pressing instances  
of the ,garon1 but to call him a coquin1
 7which being a ,milanese was not quite 
safe7 to throw out broad hints 7        
l',anglais7 of a collusion between him  
and the ,office1 and to arrange as well 
as ,i could with the ,conducteur1 that  

,i and my fellow-traveller should not be
 separated4 ,i would advise all ,english
 people travelling abroad to take their 
own places at coach-offices1 and not to 
trust to waiters1 who will make a point 
of tricking them1 both as a principle   
and pastime2 and further to procure     
letters of recommendation 7in case of   
disagreeable accidents on the road7 for 
it was a knowledge of this kind1 namely1
 that ,i had a letter of introduction to
 one of the ,professors of the ,college 
at ,lyons1 that procured me even the    
trifling concession above-mentioned1    
through the influence which the landlady
 of the ,hotel had with the ,conducteur3
 otherwise1 instead of being stuck in   
the cabriolet1 ,i might have mounted on 
the imperial1 and any signs of vexation 
or impatience ,i might have exhibited1  
would have been construed into          
ebullitions of the national character1  
and a want of bienseance in ,monsieur   
l',anglois4 ,the ,french1 and foreigners
 in general1 7as far as ,i have seen7   

are civil1 polite1 easy-tempered1       
obliging2 but the art of keeping up     
plausible appearances stands them in    
lieu of downright honesty4 ,they think  
they have a right to cheat you if they  
can 7a compliment1 a civil bow1 a shrug1
 is worth the money67 and the instant   
you find out the imposition or begin to 
complain1 they turn away from you as a  
disagreeable or wrong-headed person1 and
 you can get no redress but by main     
force4 ,it is not the original          
transgressor1 but he who declares he is 
aggrieved1 that is considered as guilty 
of a breach of good manners1 and a      
disturber of the social compact4 ,i     
think one is more irritated at the      
frequent impositions that are practised 
on one abroad1 because the novelty of   
the scene1 one's ignorance of the ways  
of the world1 and the momentary         
excitement of the spirits and of the    
flush of hope1 have a tendency to renew 
in one's mind the unsuspecting          
simplicity and credulity of youth2 and  

the petty tricks and shuffling behaviour
 we meet with on the road are a greater 
baulk to our warm1 sanguine1 buoyant1   
travelling impulses4  ,annoyed at the   
unfair way in which we had been treated1
 and at the idea of being left to the   
mercy of the ,conducteur1 whose         
#8honest1 sonsie1 bawsont face' had1    
however1 no more of the fox in it than  
implied an eye to his own interest1 and 
might be turned to our own advantage1 we
 took our seats numerically in the      
,royal ,diligence of ,italy1 at seven in
 the evening 7,january #bj7 and for some
 time suffered the extreme penalties of 
a ,french stage-coach--not indeed #8the 
icy fang and season's difference1' but a
 very purgatory of heat1 closeness1     
confinement1 and bad smells4 ,nothing   
can surpass it but the section of a     
slave-ship1 or the ,black-hole of       
,calcutta4 ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook or ,mr4 
,croker should take an airing in this   
way on the ,continent1 in order to give 
them a notion of1 and ,i should think1 a

 distaste for the blessings of the      
,middle ,passage4 ,not only were the six
 places in the interior all taken1 and  
all full1 but they had suspended a      
wicker basket 7like a hen-coop7 from the
 top of the coach1 stuffed with         
fur-caps1 hats1 overalls1 and different 
parcels1 so as to make it impossible to 
move one way or other1 and to stop every
 remaining breath of air4 ,a negociant  
at my right-hand corner1 who was        
inclined to piece out a lengthened      
recital with a parce que and a de sorte 
que at every word1 having got upon      
ticklish ground1 without seeing his     
audience1 was cut short in the flower of
 his oratory1 by asserting that         
,barcelona and ,st4 ,sebastian's in     
,spain were contiguous to each other4   
#8,they were at opposite sides of the   
country1' exclaimed in the same breath a
 ,french soldier and a ,spaniard1 who   
sat on the other side of the coach1 and 
whom he was regaling with the gallant   
adventures of a friend of his in the    

,peninsula1 and not finding the usual   
excuse--#8,c'est gal#8--applicable to a 
blunder in geography1 was contented to  
fall into the rear of the discourse for 
the rest of the journey4 ,at midnight we
 found that we had gone only nine miles 
in five hours1 as we had been climbing a
 gradual ascent from the time we set    
out1 which was our first essay in       
mountain-scenery1 and gave us some idea 
of the scale of the country we were     
beginning to traverse4 ,the heat became 
less insupportable as the noise and     
darkness subsided2 and as the morning   
dawned1 we were anxious to remove that  
veil of uncertainty and prejudice which 
the obscurity of night throws over a    
number of passengers whom accident has  
huddled together in a stage-coach4 ,i   
think one seldom finds one's-self set   
down in a party of this kind without a  
strong feeling of repugnance and        
distaste1 and one seldom quits it at    
last without some degree of regret4 ,it 
was the case in the present instance4   

,at day-break1 the pleasant farms1 the  
thatched cottages1 and sloping valleys  
of ,savoy attracted our notice1 and ,i  
was struck with the resemblance to      
,england 7to some parts of ,devonshire  
and ,somersetshire in particular7 a     
discovery which ,i imparted to my       
fellow-travellers with a more lively    
enthusiasm than it was received4 ,an    
,englishman thinks he has only to       
communicate his feelings to others to   
meet with sympathy1 and is not a little 
disconcerted if 7after this amazing act 
of condescension7 he is at all repulsed4
 ,how should we laugh at a ,frenchman   
who expected us to be delighted with his
 finding out a likeness of some part of 
,england to ,france8 ,we ,english are a 
nation of egotists1 say what we will2   
and so much so1 that we expect others to
 swallow the bait of our self-love4  ,at
 ,pont ,beau-,voisin1 the frontier town 
of the ,king of ,sardinia's dominions1  
we stopped to breakfast1 and to have our
 passports and luggage examined at the  

,barrier and ,custom-house4 ,i          
breakfasted with the ,spaniard1 who     
invited himself to our tea-party1 and   
complimented ,madame 7in broken         
,english7 on the excellence of her      
performance4 ,we agreed between         
ourselves that the ,spaniards and       
,english were very much superior to the 
,french4 ,i found he had a taste for the
 ,fine ,arts1 and ,i spoke of ,murillo  
and ,velasquez as two excellent ,spanish
 painters4 #8,here was sympathy4' ,i    
also spoke of ,don ,quixote--#8,here was
 more sympathy4' ,what a thing it is to 
have produced a work that makes friends 
of all the world that have read it1 and 
that all the world have read6 ,mention  
but ,don ,quixote1 and who is there that
 does not own him for a friend1         
countryman1 and brother8 ,there is no   
,french work1 at the name of which 7as  
at a talisman7 the scales of national   
prejudice so completely fall off2 nay   
more1 ,i must confess there is no       
,english one4 ,we were summoned from our

 tea and patriotic effusions to attend  
the ,douane4 ,it was striking to have to
 pass and repass the piquets of soldiers
 stationed as a guard on bridges across 
narrow mountain-streams that a child    
might leap over4 ,after some slight     
dalliance with our great-coat pockets1  
and significant gestures as if we might 
or might not have things of value about 
us that we should not1 we proceeded to  
the ,custom-house4 ,i had two trunks4   
,one contained books4 ,when it was      
unlocked1 it was as if the lid of       
,pandora's box flew open4 ,there could  
not have been a more sudden start or    
expression of surprise1 had it been     
filled with cartridge-paper or          
gun-powder4 ,books were the corrosive   
sublimate that eat out despotism and    
priestcraft--the artillery that battered
 down castle and dungeon-walls--the     
ferrets that ferreted out abuses--the   
lynx-eyed guardians that tore off       
disguises--the scales that weighed right
 and wrong--the thumping make-weight    

thrown into the balance that made force 
and fraud1 the sword and the cowl1 kick 
the beam--the dread of knaves1 the scoff
 of fools--the balm and the consolation 
of the human mind--the salt of the      
earth--the future rulers of the world6  
,a box full of them was a contempt of   
the constituted ,authorities2 and the   
names of mine were taken down with great
 care and secrecy--,lord ,bacon's       
#8,advancement of ,learning1' ,milton's 
#8,paradise ,lost1' ,de ,stutt-,tracey's
 #8,ideologie1' 7which ,bonaparte said  
ruined his ,russian expedition17        
,mignet's #8,french ,revolution1' 7which
 wants a chapter on the ,english        
,government17 #8,sayings and ,doings1'  
with pencil notes in the margin1        
#8,irving's ,orations1' the same1 an    
#8,edinburgh ,review1' some #8,morning  
,chronicles1' #8,the ,literary          
,examiner1' a collection of ,poetry1 a  
,volume bound in crimson velvet1 and the
 ,paris edition of #8,table-talk4' ,here
 was some questionable matter           

enough--but no notice was taken4 ,my box
 was afterwards corded and leaded with  
equal gravity and politeness1 and it was
 not till ,i arrived at ,turin that ,i  
found it was a prisoner of state1 and   
would be forwarded to me anywhere ,i    
chose to mention1 out of his ,sardinian 
,majesty's dominions4 ,i was startled to
 find myself within the smooth polished 
grasp of legitimate power1 without      
suspecting it2 and was glad to recover  
my trunk at ,florence1 with no other    
inconvenience than the expense of its   
carriage across the country4#cf  ,it was
 noon as we returned to the inn1 and we 
first caught a full view of the ,alps   
over a plashy meadow1 some feathery     
trees1 and the tops of the houses of the
 village in which we were4 ,it was a    
magnificent sight1 and in truth a new   
sensation4 ,their summits were bright   
with snow and with the midday sun2 they 
did not seem to stand upon the earth1   
but to prop the sky2 they were at a     
considerable distance from us1 and yet  

appeared just over our heads4 ,the      
surprise seemed to take away our breath1
 and to lift us from our feet4 ,it was  
drinking the empyrean4 ,as we could not 
long retain possession of our two places
 in the interior1 ,i proposed to our    
guide to exchange them for the          
cabriolet2 and1 after some little       
chaffering and candid representations of
 the outside passengers of the cold we  
should have to encounter1 we were       
installed there to our great            
satisfaction1 and the no less           
contentment of those whom we succeeded4 
,indeed ,i had no idea that we should be
 steeped in these icy valleys at three  
o'clock in the morning1 or ,i might have
 hesitated4 ,the view was cheering1 the 
clear air refreshing1 and ,i thought we 
should set off each morning about seven 
or eight4 ,but it is part of the savoir 
vivre in ,france1 and one of the methods
 of adding to the agrmens of travelling1
 to set out three hours before day-break
 in the depth of winter1 and stop two   

hours about noon1 in order to arrive    
early in the evening4 ,with all the     
disadvantages of preposterous hours and 
of intense cold pouring into the        
cabriolet like water the two first      
mornings1 ,i cannot say ,i repented of  
my bargain4 ,we had come a thousand     
miles to see the ,alps for one thing1   
and we did see them in perfection1 which
 we could not have done inside4 ,the    
ascent for some way was striking and    
full of novelty2 but on turning a corner
 of the road we entered upon a narrow   
defile or rocky ledge1 overlooking a    
steep valley under our feet1 with a     
headlong turbid stream dashing down it1 
and spreading itself out into a more    
tranquil river below1 a dark wood of    
innumerable pine-trees covering the side
 of the valley opposite1 with broken    
crags1 morasses1 and green plots of     
cultivated ground1 orchards1 and quiet  
homesteads1 on which the sun glanced its
 farewell rays through the openings of  
the mountains4 ,on our left1 a precipice

 of dark brown rocks of various shapes  
rose abruptly at our side1 or hung      
threatening over the road1 into which   
some of their huge fragments1 loosened  
by the winter's flaw1 had fallen1 and   
which men and mules were employed in    
removing--7the thundering crash had     
hardly yet subsided1 as you looked up   
and saw the fleecy clouds sailing among 
the shattered cliffs1 while another     
giant-mass seemed ready to quit its     
station in the sky7--and as the road    
wound along to the other extremity of   
this noble pass1 between the beetling   
rocks and dark sloping pine-forests1    
frowning defiance at each other1 you    
caught the azure sky1 the snowy ridges  
of the mountains1 and the peaked tops of
 the ,grand ,chartreuse1 waving to the  
right in solitary state and air-clad    
brightness4--,it was a scene dazzling1  
enchanting1 and that stamped the        
long-cherished dreams of the imagination
 upon the senses4 ,between those four   
crystal peaks stood the ancient         

monastery of that name1 hid from the    
sight1 revealed to thought1 half-way    
between earth and heaven1 enshrined in  
its cerulean atmosphere1 lifting the    
soul to its native home1 and purifying  
it from mortal grossness4 ,i cannot     
wonder at the pilgrimages that are made 
to it1 its calm repose1 its vows        
monastic4 ,life must there seem a       
noiseless dream2--,death a near         
translation to the skies6 ,winter was   
even an advantage to this scene4 ,the   
black forests1 the dark sides of the    
rocks gave additional and inconceivable 
brightness to the glittering summits of 
the lofty mountains1 and received a     
deeper tone and a more solemn gloom from
 them2 while in the open spaces the     
unvaried sheets of snow fatigue the eye1
 which requires the contrast of the     
green tints or luxuriant foliage of     
summer or of spring4 ,this was more     
particularly perceptible as the day     
closed1 when the golden sunset streamed 
in vain over frozen valleys that imbibed

 no richness from it1 and repelled its  
smile from their polished marble        
surface4 ,but in the more gloomy and    
desert regions1 the difference is less  
remarkable between summer and winter1   
except in the beginning of spring1 when 
the summits of the hoary rocks are      
covered with snow1 and the clefts in    
their sides are filled with fragrant    
shrubs and flowers4 ,i hope to see this 
miracle when ,i return4  ,we came to    
,echelles1 where we changed horses with 
great formality and preparation1 as if  
setting out on some formidable          
expedition4 ,six large strong-boned     
horses with high haunches 7used to      
ascend and descend mountains7 were put  
to1 the rope-tackle was examined and    
repaired1 and our two postilions mounted
 and dismounted more than once1 before  
they seemed willing to set off1 which   
they did at last at a hand-gallop1 that 
was continued for some miles4 ,it is    
nothing to see ,english blood-horses get
 over the ground with such prodigious   

fleetness and spirit1 but it is really  
curious to see the huge cart-horses1    
that they use for ,diligences abroad1   
lumbering along and making the miles    
disappear behind them with their        
ponderous strength and persevering      
activity4 ,the road for some way rattled
 under their heavy hoofs1 and the heavy 
wheels that they dragged or whirled     
along at a thundering pace2 the         
postilions cracked their whips1 and the 
one in front 7a dark1 swarthy1 short-set
 fellow7 flourished his1 shouted and    
hallooed1 and turned back to vociferate 
his instructions to his companion with  
the robust energy and wildness of       
expression of a smuggler or a leader of 
banditti1 carrying off a rich booty from
 a troop of soldiers4 ,there was        
something in the scenery to favour this 
idea4 ,night was falling as we entered  
the superb tunnel cut through the       
mountain at ,la ,grotte 7a work         
attributed to ,victor-,emanuel1 with the
 same truth that ,falstaff took to      

himself the merit of the death of       
,hotspur71 and its iron floor rang1 the 
whips cracked1 and the roof echoed to   
the clear voice of our intrepid         
postilion as we dashed through it4 ,our 
path then wound among romantic defiles1 
where huge masses of snow and the       
gathering gloom threatened continually  
to bar our way2 but it seemed cleared by
 the lively shout of our guide1 and the 
carriage-wheels1 clogged with ice1      
rolled after the heavy tramp of the     
horses4 ,in this manner we rode on      
through a country full of wild grandeur 
and shadowy fears1 till we had nearly   
reached the end of our day's journey1   
when we dismissed our two fore-horses   
and their rider1 to whom ,i presented a 
trifling douceur #8for the sake of his  
good voice and cheerful countenance4'   
,the descent into ,chambery was the most
 dangerous part of the road1 and our    
horses were nearly thrown on their      
haunches several times4 ,the road was   
narrow and slippery2 there were a number

 of market-carts returning from the     
town1 and there was a declivity on one  
side1 which1 though not a precipice1 was
 quite sufficient to have dashed us to  
pieces in a common-place way4 ,we       
arrived at ,chambery in the dusk of the 
evening2 and there is surely a charm in 
the name1 and in that of the ,charmettes
 near it 7where he who relished all more
 sharply than his fellows1 and made them
 feel for him as for themselves1 alone  
felt peace or hope71 which even the     
,magdalen ,muse of ,mr4 ,moore has not  
been able to unsing6 ,we alighted at the
 inn fatigued enough1 and were delighted
 on being shewn to a room to find the   
floor of wood1 and ,english teacups and 
saucers4 ,we were in ,savoy4  ,we set   
out early the next morning1 and it was  
the most trying part of our whole       
journey4 ,the wind cut like a scythe    
through the valleys1 and a cold1 icy    
feeling struck from the sides of the    
snowy precipices that surrounded us1 so 
that we seemed enclosed in a huge well  

of mountains4 ,we got to ,st4 ,jean de  
,maurienne to breakfast about noon1     
where the only point agreed upon        
appeared to be to have nothing ready to 
receive us4 ,this was the most tedious  
day of all2 nor did we meet with any    
thing to repay us for our uncomfortable 
setting out4 ,we travelled through a    
scene of desolation1 were chilled in    
sunless valleys or dazzled by sunny     
mountain-tops1 passed frozen streams or 
gloomy cavities1 that might be          
transformed into the scene of some      
,gothic wizard's spell1 or reminded one 
of some ,german novel4 ,let no one      
imagine that the crossing the ,alps is  
the work of a moment1 or done by a      
single heroic effort--that they are a   
huge but detached chain of hills1 or    
like the dotted line we find in the map4
 ,they are a sea or an entire kingdom of
 mountains4 ,it took us three days to   
traverse them in this1 which is the most
 practicable direction1 and travelling  
at a good round pace4 ,we passed on as  

far as eye could see1 and still we      
appeared to have made little way4 ,still
 we were in the shadow of the same      
enormous mass of rock and snow1 by the  
side of the same creeping stream4 ,lofty
 mountains reared themselves in front of
 us--horrid abysses were scooped out    
under our feet4 ,sometimes the road     
wound along the side of a steep hill1   
overlooking some village-spire or       
hamlet1 and as we ascended it1 it only  
gave us a view of remoter scenes1       
#8where ,alps o'er ,alps arise1' tossing
 about their billowy tops1 and tumbling 
their unwieldy shapes in all            
directions--a world of wonders6--,any   
one1 who is much of an egotist1 ought   
not to travel through these districts2  
his vanity will not find its account in 
them2 it will be chilled1 mortified1    
shrunk up3 but they are a noble treat to
 those who feel themselves raised in    
their own thoughts and in the scale of  
being by the immensity of other things1 
and who can aggrandise and piece out    

their personal insignificance by the    
grandeur and eternal forms of nature6   
,it gives one a vast idea of ,buonaparte
 to think of him in these situations4   
,he alone 7the ,rob ,roy of the scene7  
seemed a match for the elements1 and    
able to master #8this fortress1 built by
 nature for herself4' ,neither impeded  
nor turned aside by immoveable barriers1
 he smote the mountains with his iron   
glaive1 and made them malleable2 cut    
roads through them2 transported armies  
over their ridgy steeps2 and the rocks  
#8nodded to him1 and did him            
courtesies6'  ,we arrived at ,st4       
,michelle at night-fall 7after passing  
through beds of ice and the infernal    
regions of cold71 where we met with a   
truly hospitable reception1 with        
wood-floors in the ,english fashion1 and
 where they told us the ,king of        
,england had stopped4 ,this made no sort
 of difference to me4  ,we breakfasted  
the next day 7being ,sunday7 at         
,lans-le-,bourg1 where ,i observed my   

friend the ,spaniard busy with his      
tables1 taking down the name of the     
place4 ,the landlady was a little1      
round1 fat1 good-humoured black-eyed    
,italian or ,savoyard1 saying a number  
of good things to all her guests1 but   
sparing of them otherwise4 ,we were now 
at the foot of ,mount ,cenis1 and after 
breakfast we set out on foot before the 
,diligence1 which was to follow us in   
half an hour4 ,we passed a              
melancholy-looking inn at the end of the
 town1 professing to be kept by an      
,englishwoman2 but there appeared to be 
nobody about the house1 ,english1       
,french1 or ,italian4 ,the mistress of  
it 7a young woman who had married an    
,italian7 had1 in fact1 died a short    
time before of pure chagrin and         
disappointment in this solitary place1  
after having told her tale of distress  
to every one1 till it fairly wore her   
out4 ,we had leisure to look back to the
 town as we proceeded1 and which1 with  
its church1 stone-cottages1 and slated  

roofs1 shrunk into a miniature-model of 
itself as we continued to advance       
farther and higher above it4 ,some      
straggling cottages1 some vineyards     
planted at a great height1 and another  
compact and well-built village1 that    
seemed to defy the extremity of the     
seasons1 were seen in the direction of  
the valley that we were pursuing4 ,else 
all around were shapeless1 sightless    
piles of hills covered with snow1 with  
crags or pine-trees or a foot-path      
peeping out1 and in the appearance of   
which no alteration whatever was made by
 our advancing or receding4 ,we gained  
on the mountain by a broad1 winding road
 that continually doubles1 and looks    
down upon the point from whence you     
started half an hour before4 ,some snow 
had fallen in the morning1 but it was   
now fine1 though cloudy4 ,we found two  
of our fellow-travellers following our  
example1 and they soon after overtook   
us4 ,they were both ,french4 ,we noticed
 some of the features of the scenery2   

and a lofty hill opposite to us being   
scooped out into a bed of snow1 with two
 ridges or promontories projecting      
7something like an arm-chair7 on each   
side4 #8,voil6' said the younger and    
more volatile of our companions1 #8c'est
 un trne1 et le nuage est la            
gloire6#8--,a white cloud indeed        
encircled its misty top4 ,i complimented
 him on the happiness of his allusion1  
and said that ,madame was pleased with  
the exactness of the resemblance4 ,he   
then turned to the valley1 and said1    
#8,c'est un berceau4' ,this is the      
height to which the imagination of a    
,frenchman always soars1 and it can soar
 no higher4 ,any thing that is not cast 
in this obvious1 common-place mould1    
that had been used a thousand times     
before with applause1 they think        
barbarous1 and as they phrase it1       
originaire4 ,no farther notice was taken
 of the scenery1 any more than if we had
 been walking on the ,boulevards at     
,paris1 and my young ,frenchman talked  

of other things1 laughed1 sung1 and     
smoked a cigar with a gaiety and        
lightness of heart that ,i envied4      
#8,what has become1' said the elder of  
the ,frenchmen1 #8of ,monsieur          
l',espagnol8 ,he does not easily quit   
his seat2 he sits in one corner1 never  
looks out1 or if you point to any       
object1 takes no notice of it2 and when 
you come to the end of the stage1       
says--8,what is the name of that place  
we passed by last80 takes out his       
pocket-book1 and makes a note of it4    
8,that is droll40' ,and what made it    
more so1 it turned out that our ,spanish
 friend was a painter1 travelling to    
,rome to study the ,fine ,arts6 ,all the
 way as we ascended1 there were red     
posts placed at the edge of the road1   
ten or twelve feet in height1 to point  
out the direction of the road in case of
 a heavy fall of snow1 and with notches 
cut to shew the depth of the drifts4    
,there were also scattered stone-hovels1
 erected as stations for the ,gens      

d'armes1 who were sometimes left here   
for several days together after a severe
 snow-storm1 without being approached by
 a single human being4 ,one of these    
stood near the top of the mountain1 and 
as we were tired of the walk 7which had 
occupied two hours7 and of the          
uniformity of the view1 we agreed to    
wait here for the ,diligence to overtake
 us4 ,we were cordially welcomed in by a
 young peasant 7a soldier's wife7 with a
 complexion as fresh as the winds1 and  
an expression as pure as the            
mountain-snows4 ,the floor of this rude 
tenement consisted of the solid rock2   
and a three-legged table stood on it1 on
 which were placed three earthen bowls  
filled with sparkling wine1 heated on a 
stove with sugar4 ,the woman stood by1  
and did the honours of this cheerful    
repast with a rustic simplicity and a   
pastoral grace that might have called   
forth the powers of ,hemskirk and       
,raphael4 ,i shall not soon forget the  
rich ruby colour of the wine1 as the sun

 shone upon it through a low glazed     
window that looked out on the boundless 
wastes around1 nor its grateful spicy   
smell as we sat round it4 ,i was        
complaining of the trick that had been  
played by the waiter at ,lyons in the   
taking of our places1 when ,i was told  
by the young ,frenchman1 that1 in case  
,i returned to ,lyons1 ,i ought to go to
 the ,hotel de l',europe1 or to the     
,hotel du ,nord1 #8in which latter case 
he should have the honour of serving    
me4' ,i thanked him for his information1
 and we set out to finish the ascent of 
,mount ,cenis1 which we did in another  
half-hour's march4 ,the traiteur of the 
,hotel du ,nord and ,i had got into a   
brisk theatrical discussion on the      
comparative merits of ,kean and ,talma1 
he asserting that there was something in
 ,french acting which an ,english       
understanding could not appreciate2 and 
,i insisting loudly on bursts of passion
 as the forte of ,talma1 which was a    
language common to human nature2 that in

 his dipus1 for instance1 it was not a  
,frenchman or an ,englishman he had to  
represent--#8,mais c'est un homme1 c'est
 dipe#8--when our cautious ,spaniard    
brushed by us1 determined to shew he    
could descend the mountain1 if he would 
not ascend it on foot4 ,his figure was  
characteristic enough1 his motions smart
 and lively1 and his dress composed of  
all the colours of the rainbow4 ,he     
strutted on before us in the snow1 like 
a flamingo or some tropical bird of     
variegated plumage2 his dark purple     
cloak fluttered in the air1 his ,montero
 cap1 set a little on one side1 was of  
fawn colour2 his waistcoat a bright     
scarlet1 his coat a reddish brown1 his  
trowsers a pea-green1 and his boots a   
perfect yellow4 ,he saluted us with a   
national politeness as he passed1 and   
seemed bent on redeeming the sedentary  
sluggishness of his character by one    
bold and desperate effort of locomotion4
  ,the coach shortly after overtook us4 
,we descended a long and steep          

declivity1 with the highest point of    
,mount ,cenis on our left1 and a lake to
 the right1 like a landing-place for    
geese4 ,between the two was a low1 white
 monastery1 and the barrier where we had
 our passports inspected1 and then went 
forward with only two stout horses and  
one rider4 ,the snow on this side of the
 mountain was nearly gone4 ,i supposed  
myself for some time nearly on level    
ground1 till we came in view of several 
black chasms or steep ravines in the    
side of the mountain facing us1 with    
water oozing from it1 and saw through   
some galleries1 that is1 massy          
stone-pillars knit together by thick    
rails of strong timber1 guarding the    
road-side1 a perpendicular precipice    
below1 and other galleries beyond1      
diminished in a fairy perspective1 and  
descending #8with cautious haste and    
giddy cunning1' and with innumerable    
windings and re-duplications to an      
interminable depth and distance from the
 height where we were4 ,the men and     

horses with carts1 that were labouring  
up the path in the hollow below1 shewed 
like crows or flies4 ,the road we had to
 pass was often immediately under that  
we were passing1 and cut from the side  
of what was all but a precipice out of  
the solid rock by the broad1 firm       
master-hand that traced and executed    
this mighty work4 ,the share that art   
has in the scene is as appalling as the 
scene itself--the strong security       
against danger as sublime as the danger 
itself4 ,near the turning of one of the 
first galleries is a beautiful          
waterfall1 which at this time was frozen
 into a sheet of green pendant ice--a   
magical transformation4 ,long after we  
continued to descend1 now faster and now
 slower1 and came at length to a small  
village at the bottom of a sweeping line
 of road1 where the houses seemed like  
dove-cotes with the mountain's back     
reared like a wall behind them1 and     
which ,i thought the termination of our 
journey4 ,but here the wonder and the   

greatness began3 for1 advancing through 
a grove of slender trees to another     
point of the road1 we caught a new view 
of the lofty mountain to our left4 ,it  
stood in front of us1 with its head in  
the skies1 covered with snow1 and its   
bare sides stretching far away into a   
valley that yawned at its feet1 and over
 which we seemed suspended in mid air4  
,the height1 the magnitude1 the         
immovableness of the objects1 the wild  
contrast1 the deep tones1 the dance and 
play of the landscape from the change of
 our direction and the interposition of 
other striking objects1 the continued   
recurrence of the same huge masses1 like
 giants following us with unseen        
strides1 stunned the sense like a blow1 
and yet gave the imagination strength to
 contend with a force that mocked it4   
,here immeasurable columns of reddish   
granite shelved from the mountain's     
sides2 here they were covered and       
stained with furze and other shrubs2    
here a chalky cliff shewed a fir-grove  

climbing its tall sides1 and that itself
 looked at a distance like a huge1      
branching pine-tree2 beyond was a dark1 
projecting knoll1 or hilly promontory1  
that threatened to bound the            
perspective--but1 on drawing nearer to  
it1 the cloudy vapour that shrouded it  
7as it were7 retired1 and opened another
 vista beyond1 that1 in its own         
unfathomed depth1 and in the gradual    
obscurity of twilight1 resembled the    
uncertain gloom of the back-ground of   
some fine picture4 ,at the bottom of    
this valley crept a sluggish stream1 and
 a monastery or low castle stood upon   
its banks4 ,the effect was altogether   
grander than ,i had any conception of4  
,it was not the idea of height or       
elevation that was obtruded upon the    
mind and staggered it1 but we seemed to 
be descending into the bowels of the    
earth--its foundations seemed to be laid
 bare to the centre2 and abyss after    
abyss1 a vast1 shadowy1 interminable    
space1 opened to receive us4 ,we saw the

 building up and frame-work of the      
world--its limbs1 its ponderous masses1 
and mighty proportions1 raised stage    
upon stage1 and we might be said to have
 passed into an unknown sphere1 and     
beyond mortal limits4 ,as we rode down  
our winding1 circuitous path1 our       
baggage1 7which had been taken off7     
moved on before us2 a grey horse that   
had got loose from the stable followed  
it1 and as we whirled round the         
different turnings in this rapid1       
mechanical flight1 at the same rate and 
the same distance from each other1 there
 seemed something like witchcraft in the
 scene and in our progress through it4  
,the moon had risen1 and threw its      
gleams across the fading twilight2 the  
snowy tops of the mountains were blended
 with the clouds and stars2 their sides 
were shrouded in mysterious gloom1 and  
it was not till we entered ,susa1 with  
its fine old drawbridge and castellated 
walls1 that we found ourselves on terra 
firma1 or breathed common air again4 ,at

 the inn at ,susa1 we first perceived   
the difference of ,italian manners2 and 
the next day arrived at ,turin1 after   
passing over thirty miles of the        
straightest1 flattest1 and dullest road 
in the world4 ,here we stopped two days 
to recruit our strength and look about  
us4                                     
,,chapter ,,xv   ,my arrival at ,turin  
was the first and only moment of        
intoxication ,i have found in ,italy4   
,it is a city of palaces4 ,after a      
change of dress 7which1 at the end of a 
long journey1 is a great luxury7 ,i     
walked out1 and traversing several      
clean1 spacious streets1 came to a      
promenade outside the town1 from which  
,i saw the chain of ,alps we had left   
behind us1 rising like a range of marble
 pillars in the evening sky4 ,monte     
,viso and ,mount ,cenis resembled two   
pointed cones of ice1 shooting up above 
all the rest4 ,i could distinguish the  
broad and rapid ,po1 winding along at   
the other extremity of the walk1 through

 vineyards and meadow grounds4 ,the     
trees had on that deep sad foliage1     
which takes a mellower tinge from being 
prolonged into the midst of winter1 and 
which ,i had only seen in pictures4 ,a  
,monk was walking in a solitary grove at
 a little distance from the common path4
 ,the air was soft and balmy1 and ,i    
felt transported to another             
climate--another earth--another sky4    
,the winter was suddenly changed to     
spring4 ,it was as if ,i had to begin my
 life anew4 ,several young ,italian     
women were walking on the terrace1 in   
,english dresses1 and with graceful     
downcast looks1 in which you might fancy
 that you read the soul of the          
,decameron4 ,it was a fine1 serious     
grace1 equally remote from ,french      
levity and ,english sullenness1 but it  
was the last ,i saw of it4 ,i have run  
the gauntlet of vulgar shapes and horrid
 faces ever since4 ,the women in ,italy 
7so far as ,i have seen hitherto7 are   
detestably ugly4 ,they are not even dark

 and swarthy1 but a mixture of brown and
 red1 coarse1 marked with the small pox1
 with pug-features1 awkward1 ill-made1  
fierce1 dirty1 lazy1 neither attempting 
nor hoping to please4 ,italian beauty   
7if there is1 as ,i am credibly         
informed1 such a thing7 is retired1     
conventual1 denied to the common gaze4  
,it was and it remains a dream to me1 a 
vision of the brain6 ,i returned to the 
inn 7the ,pension ,suisse7 in high      
spirits1 and made a most luxuriant      
dinner4 ,we had a wild duck equal to    
what we had in ,paris1 and the grapes   
were the finest ,i ever tasted4         
,afterwards we went to the ,opera1 and  
saw a ballet of action 7out-heroding    
,herod7 with all the extravagance of    
incessant dumb-show and noise1 the      
glittering of armour1 the burning of    
castles1 the clattering of horses on and
 off the stage1 and heroines like furies
 in hysterics4 ,nothing at ,bartholomew 
,fair was ever in worse taste1 noisier1 
or finer4 ,it was as if a whole people  

had buried their understandings1 their  
imaginations1 and their hearts in their 
senses2 and as if the latter were so    
jaded and worn out1 that they required  
to be inflamed1 dazzled1 and urged      
almost to a kind of frenzy-fever1 to    
feel any thing4 ,the house was crowded  
to excess1 and dark1 all but the stage1 
which shed a dim1 ghastly light on the  
gilt boxes and the audience4 ,milton    
might easily have taken his idea of     
,pandemonium from the inside of an      
,italian ,theatre1 its heat1 its        
gorgeousness1 and its gloom4 ,we were at
 the back of the pit1 in which there was
 only standing room1 and leaned against 
the first row of boxes1 full of the     
,piedmontese ,nobility1 who talked fast 
and loud in their harsh guttural        
dialect1 in spite of the repeated       
admonitions of #8a gentle usher1        
,authority by name1' who every five     
seconds hissed some lady of quality and 
high breeding whose voice was heard with
 an clat above all the rest4 ,no notice 

whatever was taken of the acting or the 
singing 7which was any thing but        
,italian1 unless ,italian at present    
means a bad imitation of the ,french7   
till a comic dance attracted all eyes1  
and drew forth bursts of enthusiastic   
approbation4 ,i do not know the         
performers' names1 but a short1 squat   
fellow 7a kind of pollard of the        
green-room7 dressed in a brown          
linsey-woolsey doublet and hose1 with   
round head1 round shoulders1 short arms 
and short legs1 made love to a fine     
die-away lady1 dressed up in the hoops1 
lappets and furbelows of the last age1  
and stumped1 nodded1 pulled and tugged  
at his mistress with laudable           
perseverance1 and in determined         
opposition to the awkward1 mawkish      
graces of an ,adonis of a rival1 with   
flowing locks1 pink ribbons1 yellow     
kerseymere breeches1 and an insipid     
expression of the utmost distress4 ,it  
was an admirable grotesque and fantastic
 piece of pantomime humour4 ,the little 

fellow who played the ,clown1 certainly 
entered into the part with infinite     
adroitness and spirit4 ,he merited the  
teres et rotundus of the poet4 ,he      
bounded over the stage like a foot-ball1
 rolled himself up like a hedge-hog1    
stuck his arms in his sides like fins1  
rolled his eyes in his head like        
bullets--and the involuntary plaudits of
 the audience witnessed the success of  
his efforts at once to electrify and    
stultify them6 ,the only annoyance ,i   
found at ,turin was the number of       
beggars who are stuck against the walls 
like fixtures1 and expose their         
diseased1 distorted limbs1 with no more 
remorse or feeling than if they did not 
belong to them1 deafening you with one  
wearisome cry the whole day long4  ,we  
were fortunate enough to find a voiture 
going from ,geneva to ,florence1 with an
 ,english lady and her niece--,i        
bargained for the two remaining places  
for ten guineas1 and the journey turned 
out pleasantly1 ,i believe1 to all      

parties2 ,i am sure it did so to us4 ,we
 were to be eight days on the road1 and 
to stop two days to rest1 once at       
,parma1 and once at ,bologna1 to see the
 pictures4 ,having made this            
arrangement1 ,i was proceeding over the 
bridge towards the ,observatory that    
commands a view of the town and the     
whole surrounding country1 and had quite
 forgotten that ,i had such a thing as a
 passport to take with me4 ,i found1    
however1 ,i had no fewer than four      
signatures to procure1 besides the six  
that were already tacked to my passport1
 before ,i could proceed1 and which ,i  
had some difficulty in obtaining in time
 to set out on the following morning4   
,the hurry ,i was thrown into by this   
circumstance prevented me from seeing   
some fine ,rembrandts1 ,spagnolettos and
 ,caraccis1 which ,i was told are to be 
found in the ,palace of ,prince         
,carignani and elsewhere4 ,i received   
this piece of information from my friend
 the ,spaniard1 who called on me to     

inquire my proposed route1 and to       
#8testify1' as he said1 #8his respect   
for the ,english character4' ,shall ,i  
own it8 ,i who flout1 rail at1 and      
contemn the ,english1 was more pleased  
with this compliment paid to me in my   
national character1 than with any ,i    
ever received on the score of personal  
civility4 ,my fellow-traveller was for  
,genoa and ,milan2 ,i for ,florence3 but
 we were to meet at ,rome4  ,the next   
morning was clear and frosty1 and the   
sun shone bright into the windows of the
 voiture1 as we left ,turin1 and        
proceeded for some miles at a gentle    
pace along the banks of the ,po4 ,the   
road was level and excellent1 and we met
 a number of market people with mules   
and yokes of oxen4 ,there were some     
hills crowned with villas2 some bits of 
traditional ,italian scenery now and    
then2 but in general you would not know 
but that you were in ,england1 except   
from the greater clearness and lightness
 of the air4 ,we breakfasted at the     

first town we came to1 in two separate  
,english groups1 and ,i could not help  
being struck with the manner of our     
reception at an ,italian inn1 which had 
an air of indifference1 insolence1 and  
hollow swaggering about it1 as much as  
to say1 #8,well1 what do you think of us
 ,italians8 ,whatever you think1 we care
 very little about the matter6' ,the    
,french are a politer people than the   
,italians--the ,english are honester2   
but ,i may as well postpone these       
comparisons till my return4 ,the room   
smoked1 and the waiter insisted on      
having the windows and the door open1 in
 spite of my remonstrances to the       
contrary4 ,he flung in and out of the   
room as if he had a great opinion of    
himself1 and wished to express it by a  
braggadocio air4 ,the partridges1       
coffee1 cheese and grapes1 on which we  
breakfasted  la fourchette1 were1       
however1 excellent4 ,i said so1 but the 
acknowledgment seemed to be considered  
as superfluous by our attendant1 who    

received five francs for his master1 and
 one for himself1 with an air of        
condescending patronage4 ,in consequence
 of something being said about our      
passports1 he relaxed in the solemnity  
of his deportment1 and observed that    
#8he had been once near being engaged as
 valet to an ,english gentleman1 at     
,ostend2 that he had but three hours to 
procure his passport1 but while he was  
getting it1 the ship sailed1 and he lost
 his situation4' ,such was my first     
impression of ,italian inns and waiters1
 and ,i have seen nothing since         
materially to alter it4 ,they receive   
you with a mixture of familiarity and   
fierceness1 and instead of expecting any
 great civility from them1 they excite  
that sort of uncomfortable sensation as 
to the footing you are upon1 that you   
are glad to get away without meeting    
with some affront4 ,there is either a   
fawning sleekness1 which looks like     
design1 or an insolence1 which looks as 
if they had you in their power4 ,in     

,switzerland and ,savoy you are waited  
on by women2 in ,italy by men4 ,i cannot
 say ,i like the exchange4 ,from ,turin 
to ,florence1 only one girl entered the 
room1 and she 7not to mend the matter7  
was a very pretty one4--,i was told at  
the office of ,messrs4 ,bonnafoux at    
,turin1 that travelling to ,rome by a   
vetturino was highly dangerous1 and that
 their ,diligence was guarded by four   
carabineers1 to defend it from the      
banditti4 ,i saw none1 nor the          
appearance of any thing that looked like
 a robber1 except a bare-foot friar1 who
 suddenly sprang out of a hedge by the  
road-side1 with a somewhat wild and     
haggard appearance1 which a little      
startled me4 ,instead of finding a thief
 concealed behind each bush1 or a       
,salvator ,rosa face scowling from a    
ruined hovel1 or peeping from a jutting 
crag at every turn1 there is an         
excellent turnpike-road all the way1    
three-fourths perfectly level1 skirted  
with hedges1 corn-fields1 orchards and  

vineyards1 populous with hamlets and    
villages1 with labourers at work in the 
fields1 and with crowds of peasants in  
gay1 picturesque attire1 and with       
healthy1 cheerful1 open1 but manly      
countenances1 passing along1 either to  
or from the different market-towns4 ,it 
was ,carnival time2 and as we travelled 
on1 we were struck with the variety of  
rich dresses1 red1 yellow1 and green1   
the high-plaited head-dresses of the    
women1 some in the shape of helmets1    
with pins stuck in them like skewers1   
with gold crosses at their bosoms1 and  
large muffs on their hands1 who poured  
from the principal towns along the      
high-road1 or turned off towards some   
village-spire in the distance1          
chequering the landscape with their     
gaily-tinted groups4 ,they often turned 
back and laughed as we drove by them1 or
 passed thoughtfully on without noticing
 us1 but assuredly showed no signs of an
 intention to rob or murder us4 ,even in
 the ,apennines1 though the road is     

rugged and desolate1 it is lined with   
farm-houses and towns at small          
distances2 and there is but one house   
all the way that is stained by the      
recollection of a tragic catastrophe4   
,how it may be farther south1 ,i cannot 
say2 but so far1 the reports to alarm   
strangers are 7to the best of my        
observation and conjecture7 totally     
unfounded4  ,we had left the ,alps      
behind us1 the white tops of which we   
still saw scarcely distinguishable from 
ridges of rolling clouds1 and that      
seemed to follow us like a formidable   
enemy1 and almost enclose us in a       
semicircle2 and we had the ,apennines in
 front1 that1 gradually emerging from   
the horizon1 opposed their undulating   
barrier to our future progress1 with    
shadowy shapes of danger and            
,covigliaijo lurking in the midst of    
them4 ,all the space between these two1 
for at least #aej miles 7,i should      
suppose7 is one level cultivated plain1 
one continuous garden4 ,this became more

 remarkably the case1 as we entered the 
territories of ,maria-,louisa 7the      
little ,states of ,parma and ,placentia7
 when1 for two whole days1 we literally 
travelled through an uninterrupted      
succession of corn-fields1 vineyards and
 orchards1 all in the highest state of  
cultivation1 with the hedges neatly     
clipped into a kind of trellis-work1 and
 the vines hanging in festoons from tree
 to tree1 or clinging #8with            
marriageable arms' round the branches of
 each regularly planted and friendly    
support4 ,it was more like passing      
through a number of orchard-plots or    
garden-grounds in the neighbourhood of  
some great city 7such as ,london7 than  
making a journey through a wide and     
extensive tract of country4 ,not a      
common came in sight1 nor a single foot 
of waste or indifferent ground4 ,it     
became tedious at last from the         
richness1 the neatness1 and the         
uniformity2 for the whole was worked up 
to an ideal model1 and so exactly a     

counterpart of itself1 that it was like 
looking out of a window at the same     
identical spot1 instead of passing on to
 new objects every instant4 ,we were    
saturated even with beauty and comfort1 
and were disposed to repeat the wish--  
#8,to-morrow to fresh fields and        
pastures new4'  ,a white square villa1  
or better sort of farm-house1 sometimes 
stared on us from the end of a long1    
strait avenue of poplars1 standing in   
ostentatious1 unadorned nakedness1 and  
in a stiff1 meagre1 and very singular   
taste4 ,what is the cause of the        
predilection of the ,italians for       
straight lines and unsheltered walls8   
,is it for the sake of security or      
vanity8 ,the desire of seeing everything
 or of being seen by every one8 ,the    
only thing that broke the uniformity of 
the scene1 or gave an appearance of     
wretchedness or neglect to the country1 
was the number of dry beds of the       
torrents of melted snow and ice that    
came down from the mountains in the     

breaking up of the winter1 and that     
stretched their wide1 comfortless1      
unprofitable length across these valleys
 in their progress to the ,adriatic4    
,some of them were half a mile in       
breadth1 and had stately bridges over   
them1 with innumerable arches--7the     
work1 it seems1 of ,maria ,louisa7 some 
of which we crossed over1 others we rode
 under4 ,we approached the first of them
 by moonlight1 and the effect of the    
long1 white1 glimmering1 sepulchral     
arches was as ghastly then as it is     
dreary in the day-time4 ,there is       
something almost preternatural in the   
sensation they excite1 particularly when
 your nerves have been agitated and     
harassed during several days' journey1  
and you are disposed to startle at      
everything in a questionable shape4 ,you
 do not know what to make of them4 ,they
 seem like the skeletons of bridges over
 the dry bones and dusty relics of      
rivers4 ,it is as if some mighty        
concussion of the earth had swept away  

the water1 and left the bridge standing 
in stiffened horror over it4 ,it is a   
new species of desolation1 as flat1     
dull1 disheartening1 and hopeless as can
 be imagined4 ,mr4 ,crabbe should travel
 post to ,italy on purpose to describe  
it1 and to add it to his list of prosaic
 horrors4 ,while here1 he might also try
 his hand upon an ,italian vintage1 and 
if he does not squeeze the juice and    
spirit out of it1 and leave nothing but 
the husk and stalks1 ,i am much         
mistaken4 ,as we groped our way under   
the stony ribs of the first of these    
structures that we came to1 one of the  
arches within which the moonlight fell1 
presented a momentary appearance of a   
woman in a white dress and hood1        
stooping to gather stones4 ,i wish ,i   
had the petrific pencil of the ingenious
 artist above-named1 that ,i might      
imbody this flitting shadow in a        
permanent form4  ,it was late on the    
fourth day 7,saturday7 before we reached
 ,parma4 ,our two black1 glossy1        

easy-going horses were tired of the     
sameness or length of the way2 and our  
guide appeared to have forgotten it1 for
 we entered the capital of the          
,archduchy without his being aware of   
it4 ,we went to the ,peacock ,inn1 where
 we were shewn into a very fine but     
faded apartment1 and where we stopped   
the whole of the next day4 ,here1 for   
the first time on our journey1 we found 
a carpet1 which1 however1 stuck to the  
tiled floor with dirt and age4 ,there   
was a lofty bed1 with a crimson silk    
canopy1 a marble table1 looking-glasses 
of all sizes and in every direction1#cg 
and excellent coffee1 fruit1 game1 bread
 and wine at a moderate rate--that is to
 say1 our supper the first night1 our   
breakfast1 dinner1 and coffee the next  
day1 and coffee the following morning1  
with lodging and fire1 came to          
twenty-three francs4 ,it would have cost
 more than double in ,england in the    
same circumstances4 ,we had an          
exhilarating view from our window of the

 street and great square4 ,it was full  
of noise and bustle4 ,the people were   
standing in lounging attitudes by       
themselves1 or talking loud in groups1  
and with great animation4 ,the          
expression of character seemed to be    
natural and unaffected4 ,every one      
appeared to follow the bent of his own  
humour and feelings 7good or bad7 and ,i
 did not perceive any of that smirking  
grimace and varnish of affectation and  
self-complacency1 which glitters in the 
face and manners of every ,frenchman1   
and makes them so many enemies4 ,if an  
individual is inordinately delighted    
with himself1 do not others laugh at and
 take a dislike to him8 ,must it not be 
equally so with a nation enamoured of   
itself8--,the women that ,i saw did not 
answer to my expectations4 ,they had    
high shoulders1 thick waists1 and       
shambling feet1 or that crapaudeux      
shape1 which is odious to see or think  
of4 ,the men looked better1 and ,i saw  
little difference between them and the  

,english1 except a greater degree of    
fire and spirit4 ,the priests had many  
of them 7both here and at ,turin7 fine  
faces1 with a jovial expression of good 
humour and good living1 or of subtle    
thought and painful watching1 studious  
to keep the good things that enriched   
the veins and pampered the pride of the 
brotherhood4 ,here we saw the whole     
market-place kneel down as the host     
passed by4 ,being ,carnival time1 high  
mass was celebrated at the principal    
churches1 and ,moses in ,egypt was given
 at the ,opera in the evening4 ,the day 
before1 as we entered ,parma in the     
dusk1 we saw a procession of flambeaux  
at a distance1 which denoted a funeral4 
,the processions are often joined by    
persons of the highest quality in       
disguise1 who make a practice of        
performing penance1 or expiating some   
offence by attending the obsequies of   
the dead4 ,this custom may be ridiculed 
as superstitious by an excess of        
,protestant zeal2 but the moralist will 

hardly blame what shews a sense of human
 infirmity1 and owns something #8serious
 in mortality2' and is besides freed    
from the suspicion of ostentation or    
hypocrisy4 ,lord ,glenallan1 in #8,the  
,antiquary1' has been censured on the   
same principle1 as an excrescence of    
morbid and superannuated superstition4  
,honi soit qui mal y pense4 ,when human 
nature is no longer liable to such      
misfortunes1 our sympathy with them will
 then be superfluous--we may dry up our 
tears1 and stifle our sighs4 ,in the    
mean time1 they who enlarge our sympathy
 with others1 or deepen it for ourselves
 from lofty1 imaginary sources1 are the 
true teachers of morality1 and          
benefactors of mankind1 were they twenty
 times tools and ,tories4 ,it is not the
 shutting up of hospitals1 but the      
opening of the human heart1 that will   
lead to the regeneration of the         
world#ch6  ,it was at ,parma ,i first   
noticed the women looking out of the    
windows 7not one or two stragglers1 but 

two or three from every house7 where    
they hang like signs or pictures1       
stretching their necks out1 or confined1
 like children by iron bars1 often with 
cushions to lean upon1 scaldalettos     
dangling from their hands 7another vile 
custom74 ,this seems to shew a          
prodigious predominance of the organ of 
sight1 or a want of something to do or  
to think of4 ,in ,france1 the passion of
 the women is not to see1 but to talk4  
,in ,hogarth1 you perceive some symptoms
 of the same prurience of the optic     
nerve1 and willingness to take in       
knowledge at the entrance of the eyes4  
,it certainly has a great look of       
ignorance1 indolence1 and vulgarity4 ,in
 summer time1 perhaps1 the practice     
might be natural--in winter1 the habit  
is quite unaccountable4 ,i thought1 at  
first1 it might be one of the abuses of 
the ,carnival2 but the ,carnival is     
over1 and the windows are still lined   
with eyes and heads--that do not like   
the trouble of putting on a cap4  ,we   

were told we could see her ,majesty at  
mass1 7so her dutiful subjects call the 
,archduchess7 and we went to see the    
daughter of a sovereign1 the            
self-devoted consort of one who only    
lost himself by taking upon him a       
degrading equality with ,emperors and   
,kings4 ,we had a ,cicerone with us1 who
 led us1 without ceremony1 to a place in
 the chapel1 where we could command a   
full view of ,maria ,louisa1 and which  
we made use of without much reserve4    
,she knelt1 or stood1 in the middle of a
 small gallery1 with attendants1 male   
and female1 on each side of her4 ,we saw
 her distinctly for several minutes4    
,she has full fair features1 not        
handsome1 but with a mild1 unassuming   
expression1 tinged with thoughtfulness4 
,she appears about forty2 she seemed to 
cast a wistful look at us1 being        
strangers and ,english people--         
#8,methought she looked at us--         
,so every one believes1 that sees a     
,duchess6'--,,old ,,play4  ,there are   

some not very pleasant rumours          
circulated of her4 ,she must have had   
something of the heroine of the ,cid    
about her4 ,she married the man who had 
conquered her father4 ,she is said to   
have leaned on the ,duke of             
,wellington's arm4 ,after that1 she     
might do whatever she pleased4 ,perhaps 
these stories are only circulated to    
degrade her2 or1 perhaps1 a scheme may  
have been laid to degrade her in        
reality1 by the persons nearest to her1 
and most interested in1 but most jealous
 of1 her honour6 ,we were invited to see
 the cradle of the little ,napoleon1    
which ,i declined2 and we then went to  
see the new gallery which the           
,archduchess has built for her pictures1
 in which there is a bust of herself1 by
 ,canova4 ,here ,i saw a number of      
pictures1 and among others the          
,correggios and the celebrated ,st4     
,jerome1 which ,i had seen at ,paris4 ,i
 must have been out of tune2 for my     
disappointment and my consequent        

mortification were extreme4 ,i had never
 thought ,correggio a ,god2 but ,i had  
attributed this to my own inexperience  
and want of taste1 and ,i hoped by this 
time to have ripened into that full     
idolatry of him expressed by ,mengs and 
others4 ,instead of which1 his pictures 
7they stood on the ground without       
frames1 and in a bad light7 appeared to 
be comparatively mean1 feeble1 and      
affected4 ,there is the master-hand1 no 
doubt1 but tremulous with artificial    
airs--beauty and grace carried to a     
pitch of quaintness and conceit--the    
expression of joy or woe1 but lost in a 
doting contemplation of its own ecstasy 
or agony1 and after being raised to the 
height of truth and nature1 hurried over
 the brink of refinement into           
effeminacy1 by a craving after          
impossibilities1 and a wanton dalliance 
with the ideal4 ,correggio has painted  
the wreathed smile of sweetness1 but he 
does not stop till he has contorted it  
into affectation2 he has expressed the  

utmost distress and despondency of soul1
 but it is the weakness of suffering    
without the strength4 ,his pictures are 
so perfect and delicate1 that #8the     
sense aches at them2' and in his efforts
 after refinement1 he has worked himself
 up into a state of languid1 nervous    
irritability1 which is reflected back   
upon the spectator4 ,these remarks      
appeared to me applicable in their full 
force to the ,st4 ,jerome1 the ,taking  
down from the ,cross1 and the ,martyrdom
 of ,st4 ,placide1 in which there is an 
executioner with his back turned1 in a  
chiaro-scuro of the most marvellous     
clearness and beauty4 ,in all these     
there is a want of manly firmness and   
simplicity4 ,he might be supposed to    
have touched1 at some period of his     
progress1 on the highest point of       
excellence1 and then to have spoiled all
 by a wish to go farther1 without       
knowing how or why4 ,perhaps modesty1 or
 an ignorance of what others had done1  
or of what the art could do1 was at the 

foundation of this1 and prevented him   
from knowing where to stop4 ,perhaps he 
had too refined and tender a            
susceptibility1 or ideas of sanctity and
 sweetness beyond the power of his art  
to express2 and in the attempt to       
reconcile the mechanical and ideal1     
failed from an excess of feeling6 ,i saw
 nothing else to please me1 and ,i was  
sorry ,i had come so far to have my     
faith in great names and immortal works 
misgive me4 ,i was ready to exclaim1    
#8,oh painting6 ,i thought thee a       
substance1 and ,i find thee a shadow6'  
,there was1 however1 a ,crowning of the 
,virgin1 a fresco 7by ,correggio7 from  
the ,church of ,st4 ,paul1 which was    
full of majesty1 sweetness1 and grace2  
and in this1 and the heads of boys and  
fawns1 in the ,chase of ,diana1 there is
 a freedom and breadth of execution1    
owing to the mode in which they were    
painted1 and which makes them seem pure 
emanations of the mind1 without anything
 overdone1 finical1 or little4 ,the     

cupola of ,st4 ,paul's1 painted by      
,correggio in fresco1 is quite          
destroyed1 or the figures flutter in    
idle fragments from the walls4 ,most of 
the other pictures in this church were  
in a tawdry1 meretricious style4 ,i was 
beginning to think that painting was not
 calculated for churches1 coloured      
surfaces not agreeing with solid pillars
 and masses of architecture1 and also   
that ,italian art was less severe1 and  
more a puppet-show business than ,i had 
thought it4 ,i was not a little tired of
 the painted shrines and paltry images  
of the ,virgin at every hundred yards as
 we rode along4 ,but if my thoughts were
 veering to this cheerless1 attenuated  
speculation of nothingness and vanity1  
they were called back by the sight of   
the ,farnese ,theatre--the noblest and  
most striking monument ,i have seen of  
the golden age of ,italy4 ,it was built 
by one of the ,farnese family about the 
fifteenth or sixteenth century1 and     
would hold eight thousand spectators4   

,it is cold1 empty1 silent as the       
receptacles of the dead4 ,the walls1    
roofs1 rafters1 and even seats1 remain  
perfect2 but the tide of population and 
of wealth1 the pomp and pride of        
patronage and power1 seemed to have     
turned another way1 and to have left it 
a deserted pile1 that would1 long ere   
this1 have mouldered into ruin and      
decay1 but that its original strength   
and vast proportions would not suffer   
it--a lasting proof of the magnificence 
of a former age1 and of the degeneracy  
of this6 ,the streets of ,parma are     
beautiful1 airy1 clean1 spacious2 the   
churches elegant2 and the walls around  
it picturesque and delightful4 ,the     
walls and ramparts1 with the gardens and
 vineyards close to them1 have a most   
romantic effect2 and we saw1 on a flight
 of steps near one of the barriers1 a   
group of men1 women1 and children1 that 
for expression1 composition1 and        
colouring rivalled any thing in         
painting4 ,we here also observed the    

extreme clearness and brilliancy of the 
southern atmosphere3 the line of hills  
in the western horizon was distinguished
 from the sky by a tint so fine that it 
was barely perceptible4  ,bologna is    
even superior to ,parma4 ,if its streets
 are less stately1 its public buildings 
are more picturesque and varied2 and its
 long arcades1 its porticos1 and silent 
walks are a perpetual feast to the eye  
and the imagination4 ,at ,parma 7as well
 as ,turin7 you see a whole street at   
once1 and have a magical and imposing   
effect produced once for all4 ,at       
,bologna you meet with a number of      
surprises2 new beauties unfold          
themselves1 a perspective is gradually  
prolonged1 or branches off by some      
retired and casual opening1 winding its 
heedless way--the rus in urbe--where    
leisure might be supposed to dwell with 
learning4 ,here is the ,falling ,tower1 
and the ,neptune of ,john of ,bologna1  
in the great square4 ,going along1 we   
met ,professor ,mezzofanti1 who is said 

to understand thirty-eight languages1   
,english among the rest4 ,he was pointed
 out to us as a prodigious curiosity by 
our guide1 7,signor ,gatti7 who has this
 pleasantry at his tongue's end1 that   
#8there is one ,raphael to paint1 one   
,mezzofanti to understand languages1 and
 one ,signor ,gatti to explain          
everything they wish to know to         
strangers4' ,we went under the guidance 
of this accomplished person1 and in     
company of our fellow-travellers1 to the
 ,academy1 and to the collection of the 
,marquis ,zampieri4 ,in the last there  
is not a single picture worth seeing1   
except some old and curious ones of     
,giotto and ,ghirlandaio4 ,one cannot   
look at these performances 7imperfect as
 they are1 with nothing but the high    
endeavour1 the fixed purpose stamped on 
them1 like the attempts of a deformed   
person at grace7 with sufficient        
veneration1 when one considers what they
 must have cost their authors1 or what  
they have enabled others to do4 ,if     

,giotto could have seen the works of    
,raphael or ,correggio1 would he not    
have laughed or wept8 ,yet ,raphael and 
,correggio should have bowed the head to
 him1 for without those first rude      
beginners and dumb creators of the art1 
they themselves would never have        
been6--,what amused us here was a sort  
of wild ,meg ,merrilies of a woman1 in a
 grey coarse dress1 and with grey matted
 hair1 that sprang out of a dungeon of a
 porter's lodge1 and seizing upon       
,madame ----1 dragged her by the arm up 
the staircase1 with unrestrained        
familiarity and delight4 ,we thought it 
was some one who presumed on old        
acquaintance1 and was overjoyed at      
seeing ,madame ---- a second time4 ,it  
was the mere spirit of good fellowship1 
and the excess of high animal spirits4  
,no woman in ,england would dream of    
such an extravagance1 who was not mad or
 drunk4 ,she afterwards followed us     
about the rooms2 and though she rather  
slunk behind1 being somewhat abashed by 

our evident wish to shake her off1 she  
still seemed to watch for an opportunity
 to dart upon some one1 like an animal  
whose fondness you cannot get rid of by 
repeated repulses4#ci ,there is a       
childishness and want of self-control   
about the ,italians1 which has an       
appearance of folly or craziness4 ,we   
passed a group of women on the road1 and
 though there was something odd in their
 dress and manner1 it was not for some  
time that we discovered that they were  
insane persons1 walking out under the   
charge of keepers1 from a greater degree
 of vacant vivacity1 or thoughtful      
abstraction than usual4  ,to return4    
,the ,collection of ,pictures in the    
,academy is worthy of ,italy and of     
,bologna4 ,it is chiefly of the         
,bolognese school2 or in that fine1     
sombre1 shadowy tone that seems         
reflected from sacred subjects or from  
legendary lore1 that corresponds with   
crucifixions and martyrdoms1 that points
 to skyey glories or hovers round       

conventual gloom4 ,here is the ,st4     
,cecilia of ,raphael 7of which the      
engraving conveys a faithful idea71     
several ,caraccis1 ,domenichino's ,st4  
,teresa1 and his ,st4 ,peter ,martyr1 7a
 respectable1 not a formidable rival of 
,titian's7 a ,sampson1 by ,guido 7an    
ill-chosen subject1 finely coloured7 and
 the ,five ,patron-,saints of ,bologna1 
by the same1 a very large1              
finely-painted and impressive picture1  
occupying the end of the ,gallery4 ,four
 out of five of the ,saints are         
admirable old ,monkish heads 7even their
 very cowls seem to think73 the ,dead   
,christ above has a fine monumental     
effect2 and the whole picture1 compared 
with this master's general style1 is    
like #8the cathedral's gloom and choir1'
 compared with sunny smiles and the     
shepherd's pipe upon the mountains4 ,i  
left this ,gallery1 once more reconciled
 to my favourite art4 ,guido also gains 
upon me1 because ,i continually see fine
 pictures of his4 #8,by their works ye  

shall know them1' is a fair rule for    
judging of painters or men4  ,there is a
 side pavement at ,bologna1 ,modena1 and
 most of the other towns in ,italy1 so  
that you do not walk1 as in ,paris1 in  
continual dread of being run over4 ,the 
shops have a neat appearance1 and are   
well supplied with the ordinary         
necessaries of life1 fruit1 poultry1    
bread1 onions or garlick1 cheese and    
sausages4 ,the butchers' shops look much
 as they do in ,england4 ,there is a    
technical description of the chief towns
 in ,italy1 which those who learn the   
,italian ,grammar are told to get by    
heart--,genoa la superba1 ,bologna la   
dotta1 ,ravenna l'antica1 ,firense la   
bella1 ,roma la santa4 ,some of these ,i
 have seen1 and others not2 and those   
that ,i have not seen seem to me the    
finest4 ,does not this list convey as   
good an idea of these places as one can 
well have8 ,it selects some one distinct
 feature of them1 and that the best4    
,words may be said1 after all1 to be the

 finest things in the world4 ,things    
themselves are but a lower species of   
words1 exhibiting the grossnesses and   
details of matter4 ,yet1 if there be any
 country answering to the description or
 idea of it1 it is ,italy2 and to this  
theory1 ,i must add1 the ,alps are also 
a proud exception4                      
,,chapter ,,xvi   ,we left ,bologna on  
our way to ,florence in the afternoon1  
that we might cross the ,apennines the  
following day4 ,high ,mass had been     
celebrated at ,bologna2 it was a kind of
 gala day1 and the road was lined with  
flocks of country-people returning to   
their homes4 ,at the first village we   
came to among the hills1 we saw1 talking
 to her companions by the road-side1 the
 only very handsome ,italian we have yet
 seen4 ,it was not the true ,italian    
face neither1 dark and oval1 but more   
like the face of an ,english peasant1   
with heightened grace and animation1    
with sparkling eyes1 white teeth1 a     
complexion breathing health1            

----#8,and when she spake1              
,betwixt the pearls and rubies softly   
brake          ,a silver sound1 which   
heavenly music seem'd to make4'  ,our   
voiture was ascending a hill2 and as she
 walked by the side of it with elastic  
step1 and a bloom like the suffusion of 
a rosy cloud1 the sight of her was      
doubly welcome1 in this land of dingy   
complexions1 squat features1 scowling   
eye-brows and round shoulders4  ,we     
slept at ----1 nine miles from ,bologna1
 and set off early the next morning1    
that we might have the whole day before 
us4 ,the moon1 which had lighted on us  
on our way the preceding evening1 still 
hung over the western horizon1 its      
yellow orb nigh dropping behind the     
snowy peaks of the highest ,apennines1  
while the sun was rising with dazzling  
splendour behind a craggy steep that    
overhung the frozen road we were passing
 over4 ,the white tops of the           
,apennines1 covered with hoar-frost     
gleamed in the misty morning4 ,there was

 a delightful freshness and novelty in  
the scene4 ,the ,apennines have not the 
vastness nor the unity of effect of the 
,alps2 but are broken up into a number  
of abrupt projecting points1 that       
crossing one another1 and presenting new
 combinations as the traveller shifts   
his position1 produce1 though a less    
sublime and imposing1 a more varied and 
picturesque effect4 ,a brook brawled    
down the precipice on the road-side1 a  
pine-tree or mountain-ash hung over it1 
and shewed the valley below in a more   
distant1 airy perspective2 on the point 
of a rock half-way down was perched some
 village-spire or ruined battlement1    
while hamlets and farm-houses were      
sheltered in the bosom of the vale far  
below3 a pine-forest rose on the sides  
of the mountain above1 or a bleak tract 
of brown heath or dark morass was       
contrasted with the clear pearly tints  
of the snowy ridges in the higher       
distance1 above which some still loftier
 peak saluted the sky1 tinged with a    

rosy light4--,such were nearly the      
features of the landscape all round1 and
 for several miles2 and though we       
constantly ascended and descended a very
 winding road1 and caught an object now 
in contact with one part of the scene1  
now giving relief to another1 at one    
time at a considerable distance beneath 
our feet1 and soon after soaring as high
 above our heads1 yet the elements of   
beauty or of wildness being the same1   
the coup d'il1 though constantly        
changing1 was as often repeated1 and we 
at length grew tired of a scenery that  
still seemed another and the same4 ,one 
of our pleasantest employments was to   
remark the teams of oxen and carts that 
we had lately passed1 winding down a    
declivity in our rear1 or suspended on  
the edge of a precipice1 that on the    
spot we had mistaken for level ground4  
,we had some difficulty too with our    
driver1 who had talked gallantly        
over-night of hiring a couple of oxen to
 draw us up the mountain2 but when it   

came to the push1 his heart failed him1 
and his ,swiss economy prevailed4 ,in   
addition to his habitual closeness1 the 
windfall of the ten guineas1 which was  
beyond his expectations1 had whetted his
 appetite for gain1 and he appeared     
determined to make a good thing of his  
present journey4 ,he pretended to       
bargain with several of the owners1 but 
from his beating them down to the lowest
 fraction1 nothing ever came of it1 and 
when from the thawing of the ice in the 
sun1 the inconvenience became serious1  
so that we were several times obliged to
 get out and walk1 to enable the horses 
to proceed with the carriage1 he said it
 was too late4 ,the country now grew    
wilder1 and the day gloomy4 ,it was     
three o'clock before we stopped at      
,pietra ,mala to have our luggage       
examined on entering the ,tuscan        
,states2 and here we resolved to        
breakfast1 instead of proceeding four   
miles farther to ,covigliaio1 where1    
though we did not choose to pass the    

night1 we had proposed to regale our    
waking imaginations with a thrilling    
recollection of the superstitious       
terrors of the spot1 at ease and in     
safety4 ,our reception at ,pietra ,mala 
was frightful enough2 the rooms were    
cold and empty1 and we were met with a  
vacant stare or with sullen frowns1 in  
lieu of any better welcome4 ,i have     
since thought that these were probably  
the consequence of the contempt and     
ill-humour shewn by other ,english      
travellers at the desolateness of the   
place1 and the apparent want of         
accommodation2 for1 as the fire of      
brushwood was lighted1 and the eggs1    
bread1 and coffee were brought in by    
degrees1 and we expressed our           
satisfaction in them1 the cloud on the  
brow of our reluctant entertainers      
vanished1 and melted into thankful      
smiles4 ,there was still an air of      
mystery1 of bustle1 and inattention     
about the house2 persons of both sexes1 
and of every age1 passed and repassed   

through our sitting room to an inner    
chamber with looks of anxiety and       
importance1 and we learned at length    
that the mistress of the inn had been1  
half an hour before1 brought to bed of a
 fine boy6  ,we had now to mount the    
longest and steepest ascent of the      
,apennines2 and ,jaques1 who began to be
 alarmed at the accounts of the state of
 the road1 and at the increasing gloom  
of the weather1 by a great effort of    
magnanimity had a yoke of oxen put to1  
and afterwards another horse1 to drag us
 up the worst part2 but as soon as he   
could find an excuse he dismissed both1 
and we crawled and stumbled on as       
before4 ,the hills were covered with a  
dense cloud of sleet and vapour driven  
before the blast1 that wrapped us round1
 and hung like a blanket or 7if the     
reader pleases7 a dark curtain over the 
more distant range of mountains4 ,on our
 right were high ledges of frowning     
rocks1 #8cloud-clapt1' and the summits  
impervious to the sight--on our farthest

 left1 an opening was made which showed 
a milder sky1 evening clouds pillowed on
 rocks1 and a chain of lofty peaks      
basking in the rays of the setting sun2 
between1 and in the valley below1 there 
was nothing to be seen but mist and crag
 and grim desolation with the lowering  
symptoms of the impending storm4 ,we    
felt uncomfortable1 for the increased   
violence of the wind or thickening of   
the fog would have presented serious    
obstacles to our farther progress1 which
 became every moment more necessary as  
the evening closed in--as it was1 we    
only saw a few yards of the road        
distinctly before us1 which cleared as  
we advanced forward2 and at the side    
there was sometimes a precipice1 beyond 
which we could distinguish nothing but  
mist1 so that we seemed to be travelling
 along the edge of the world4 ,the      
feeling was more striking than          
agreeable4 ,our horses were blinded by  
the mist1 which drove furiously against 
them1 and were nearly exhausted with    

continued exertion4 ,at length1 when we 
had arrived near the very top of the    
mountain1 we had to cross a few yards of
 very slippery ice1 which became a      
matter of considerable doubt and        
difficulty4--,the horses could hardly   
keep their feet in straining to move    
forward1 and if one of them had fallen  
and been hurt1 the accident might have  
detained us on the middle of the        
mountain1 without any aid near1 or made 
it so late that the descent on the other
 side would have been dangerous4        
,luckily1 a desperate effort succeeded1 
and we gained the summit of the hill    
without accident4 ,we had still some    
miles to go1 and we descended rapidly   
down on the other side1 congratulating  
ourselves that we had daylight to       
distinguish the road from the abyss that
 often skirted it4 ,about half-way down 
we emerged1 to our great delight1 from  
the mist 7or brouillard1 as it is       
called7 that had hitherto enveloped us1 
and the valley opened at our feet in dim

 but welcome perspective4 ,we proceeded 
more leisurely on to ,la ,maschere1     
having escaped the dangers threatened us
 from precipices and robbers1 and drove 
into a spacious covered court-yard      
belonging to the inn1 where we were     
safely housed like a flock of sheep     
folded for the night4 ,the inn at ,la   
,maschere is1 like many of the inns in  
,italy1 a set of wide dilapidated halls1
 without furniture1 but with quantities 
of old and bad pictures1 portraits or   
histories4 ,the people 7the attendants  
here were women7 were obliging and      
good-humoured1 though we could procure  
neither eggs nor milk with our coffee1  
but were compelled to have it black4 ,we
 were put into a sitting-room with three
 beds in it without curtains1 as they   
had no other with a fire-place          
disengaged1 and which1 with the         
coverlids like horse-cloths1 and the    
strong smell of the leaves of ,indian   
corn with which they were stuffed1      
brought to one's mind the idea of a     

three-stalled stable4 ,we were          
refreshed1 however1 for we slept        
securely2 and we entered upon the last  
stage betimes the following day1 less   
exhausted than we had been by the first4
 ,we had left the unqualified desolation
 and unbroken irregularity of the       
,apennines behind us2 but we were still 
occasionally treated with a rocky cliff1
 a pine-grove1 a mountain-torrent2 while
 there was no end of sloping hills with 
old ruins or modern villas upon them1 of
 farm-houses built in the ,tuscan taste1
 of gliding streams with bridges over   
them1 of meadow-grounds1 and thick      
plantations of olives and cypresses by  
the road side4  ,after being gratified  
for some hours with the cultivated      
beauty of the scene 7rendered more      
striking by contrast with our late      
perils71 we came to the brow of the hill
 overlooking ,florence1 which lay under 
us1 a scene of enchantment1 a city      
planted in a garden1 and resembling a   
rich and varied suburb4 ,the whole      

presented a brilliant amphitheatre of   
hill and vale1 of buildings1 groves1 and
 terraces4 ,the circling heights were   
crowned with sparkling villas2 the      
varying landscape1 above or below1 waved
 in an endless succession of            
olive-grounds4 ,the olive is not unlike 
the common willow in shape or colour1   
and being still in leaf1 gave to the    
middle of winter the appearance of a    
grey summer4 ,in the midst1 the ,duomo  
and other churches raised their heads2  
vineyards and olive-grounds climbed the 
hills opposite till they joined a snowy 
ridge of ,apennines rising above the top
 of ,fesole2 one plantation or row of   
trees after another fringed the ground1 
like rich lace2 though you saw it not1  
there flowed the ,arno2 every thing was 
on the noblest scale1 yet finished in   
the minutest part--the perfection of    
nature and of art1 populous1 splendid1  
full of life1 yet simple1 airy1         
embowered4 ,florence in itself is       
inferior to ,bologna1 and some other    

towns2 but the view of it and of the    
immediate neighbourhood is superior to  
any ,i have seen4 ,it is1 indeed1 quite 
delicious1 and presents an endless      
variety of enchanting walks4 ,it is not 
merely the number or the exquisiteness  
or admirable combination of the objects1
 their forms or colour1 but every spot  
is rich in associations at once the most
 classical and romantic4 ,from my friend
 ,l4 ,h4's house at ,moiano1 you see at 
one view the village of ,setiniano1     
belonging to ,michael ,angelo's family1 
the house in which ,machiavel lived1 and
 that where ,boccaccio wrote1 two ruined
 castles1 in which the rival families of
 the ,gerardeschi and the ---- carried  
on the most deadly strife1 and which    
seem as though they might still rear    
their mouldering heads against each     
other2 and not far from this the ,valley
 of ,ladies 7the scene of ,the          
,decameron71 and ,fesole1 with the      
mountains of ,perugia beyond4 ,with a   
view like this1 one may think one's     

sight #8enriched1' in ,burns's phrase4  
,on the ascent towards ,fesole is the   
house where ,galileo lived1 and where he
 was imprisoned after his release from  
the ,inquisition1 at the time ,milton   
saw him4#dj ,in the town itself are     
,michael ,angelo's house1 the           
,baptistery1 the gates of which he      
thought worthy to be the gates of       
,paradise1 the ,duomo1 older than ,st4  
,peter's1 the ancient ,palace of the    
,medici family1 the ,palace ,pitti1 and 
here also stands the statue that        
#8enchants the world4' ,the view along  
the ,arno is certainly delightful1      
though somewhat confined1 and the       
bridges over it grotesque and old1 but  
beautiful4  ,the streets of ,florence   
are paved entirely with flag-stones1 and
 it has an odd effect at first to see   
the horses and carriages drive over     
them4 ,you get out of their way1        
however1 more easily than in ,paris1    
from not having the slipperiness of the 
stones to contend with4 ,the streets get

 dirty after a slight shower1 and the   
next day you have clouds of dust again4 
,many of the narrower streets are like  
lofty paved courts1 cut through a solid 
quarry of stone4 ,in general1 the public
 buildings are old1 and striking chiefly
 from their massiness and the quaintness
 of the style and ornaments4 ,florence  
is like a town that has survived itself4
 ,it is distinguished by the remains of 
early and rude grandeur2 it is left     
where it was three hundred years ago4   
,its history does not seem brought down 
to the present period4 ,on entering it1 
you may imagine yourself enclosed in a  
besieged town2 if you turn down any of  
its inferior streets1 you feel as if you
 might meet the plague still lurking    
there4 ,even the walks out of the town  
are mostly between high stone-walls1    
which are a bad substitute for hedges4  
,the best and most fashionable is that  
along the river-side2 and the gay       
dresses and glittering equipages passing
 under the tall cedar-trees1 and with   

the purple hills in the distance for a  
back-ground1 produce a delightful       
effect1 particularly when seen from the 
opposite side of the river4 ,the        
carriages in ,florence are numerous and 
splendid1 and rival those in ,london4   
,lord ,burghersh's1 with its six horses 
and tall footmen in fine liveries1 is   
only distinguishable from the rest by   
the little child in a blue velvet hat   
and coat1 looking out at the window4    
,the ,corso on ,sundays1 and on other   
high days and holidays1 is filled with a
 double row of open carriages1 like the 
ring in ,hyde-,park1 moving slowly in   
opposite directions1 in which you see   
the flower of the ,florentine nobility4 
,i see no difference between them and   
the ,english1 except that they are      
darker and graver4 ,it was              
,carnival-time when we came1 and the    
town presented something of the same    
scene that ,london does at              
,bartholomew-,fair4 ,the streets were   
crowded with people1 half of them       

masked4 ,but what soon took off from the
 gaiety of the motley assemblage was1   
that you found that the masks were all  
the same4 ,there was great observance of
 the season1 and great good-will to be  
pleased1 but a dearth of wit and        
invention4 ,not merely the uniformity of
 the masks grew tiresome1 but the seeing
 an inflexible pasteboard countenance   
moving about upon a living body 7and    
without any thing quaint or extravagant 
in the actions of the person to justify 
a resort to so grotesque a disguise7    
shocked by its unmeaning incongruity4   
,may-day in ,london is a favourable     
version of the ,carnival here4 ,the     
finery of the chimney-sweepers is an    
agreeable and intelligible contrast to  
their usual squalidness4 ,their three   
days' license has spirit1 noise1 and    
mirth in it2 whereas the dull           
eccentricity and mechanical antics of   
the ,carnival are drawled out till they 
are merged without any violent effort in
 the solemn farce of ,lent4 ,it had been

 a fine season this year1 and it is said
 that the difference between a good     
season and a bad one to the             
trades-people is so great1 that it pays 
the rent of their houses4 ,no one is    
allowed to wear a mask1 after ,lent     
commences1 and the priests never mask4  
,there is no need that they should4     
,there is no ringing of bells here as   
with us 7triple bob-majors have not sent
 their cheering sound into the heart of 
,italy72 but during the whole ten days  
or fortnight that the ,carnival         
continues1 there is a noise and jangling
 of bells1 such as is made by the idle  
boys in a country town on our ,shrove   
,tuesday4 ,we could not tell exactly    
what to make of the striking of the     
clocks at first3 at eight they struck   
two2 at twelve six4 ,we thought they    
were put back to prevent the note of    
time1 or were thrown into confusion to  
accord with the license of the occasion4
 ,a day or two cleared up the mystery1  
and we found that the clocks here 7at   

least those in our immediate            
neighbourhood7 counted the hours by     
sixes1 instead of going on to           
twelve--which method1 when you are      
acquainted with it1 saves time and      
patience in telling the hour4 ,i have   
only heard of two masks that seemed to  
have any point or humour in them2 and   
one of these was not a mask1 but a      
person who went about with his face     
uncovered1 but keeping it1 in spite of  
every thing he saw or heard1 in the same
 unmoved position as if it were a mask4 
,the other was a person so oddly        
disguised1 that you did not know what to
 make of him1 whether he were man or    
woman1 beast or bird1 and who1          
pretending to be equally at a loss      
himself1 went about asking every one1 if
 they could tell him what he was8 ,a    
,neapolitan nobleman who was formerly in
 ,england 7,count ,acetto71 carried the 
liberty of masking too far4 ,he went to 
the ,english ,ambassador's in the       
disguise of a monk1 carrying a bundle of

 wood at his back1 with a woman's legs  
peeping out1 and written on a large     
label1 #8,provision for the ,convent4'  
,the clergy1 it is said1 interfered1 and
 he has been exiled to ,lucca4 ,lord    
,burghersh remonstrated loudly at this  
step1 as a violation of the dignity and 
privileges of ,ambassadors4 ,the        
offence1 whatever it was1 was committed 
at his house1 and the ,english          
,ambassador's house is supposed to be in
 ,england--the absentees here were      
alarmed1 for at this rate strangers     
might be sent out of the town at an     
hour's notice for a jest4 ,the ,count   
called in person on the ,grand ,duke1   
who shook him kindly by the hand--the   
,countess ,rinuccini demanded an        
interview with the ,grand ,duchess--but 
the clergy must be respected1 and the   
,count has been sent away4 ,there has   
been a good deal of talk and bustle     
about it--ask the opinion of a dry      
,scotchman1 who judges of every thing by
 precedent1 and he will tell you1 #8,it 

is just like our ,alien ,bill4' ,it is a
 rule here that a priest is never       
brought upon the stage4 ,how do they    
contrive to act our ,romeo and ,juliet8 
,molire's ,tartuffe is not a priest1 but
 merely a saint4 ,when this play was    
forbidden to be acted a second time by  
the ,archbishop of ,paris1 and the      
audience loudly demanded the reason of  
its being withdrawn1 ,molire came       
forward and said1 #8,monsieur           
l',archevque ne veut pas qu'il soit     
jou8' ,this was a hundred and fifty     
years ago4 ,with so much wit and sense  
in the world one wonders that there are 
any ,tartuffes left in it2 but for the  
last hundred and fifty years1 it must be
 confessed1 they have had but an uneasy 
life of it4  ,lent is not kept here very
 strictly4 ,the streets1 however1 have  
rather a #8fishy fume' in consequence of
 it2 and1 generally speaking1 the use of
 garlick1 tobacco1 cloves and oil gives 
a medicated taint to the air4 ,the      
number of pilgrims to ,rome1 at this    

season1 is diminished from #hj or       
#ij1jjj a century ago1 to a few hundreds
 at present4 ,we passed two on the road1
 with their staff and scrip and motley  
attire4 ,i did not look at them with any
 particle of respect4 ,the impression   
was1 that they were either knaves or    
fools4 ,the farther they come on this   
errand1 the more you have a right to    
suspect their motives1 not that ,i by   
any means suppose these are always      
bad--but those who signalise their zeal 
by such long marches obtain not only    
absolution for the past1 but            
extraordinary indulgence for the future1
 so that if a person meditate any       
baseness or mischief1 a pilgrimage to   
,rome is his high road to it4 ,the      
,popish religion is a convenient cloak  
for crime1 an embroidered robe for      
virtue4 ,it makes the essence of good   
and ill to depend on rewards and        
punishments1 and places these in the    
hands of the priests1 for the honour of 
,god and the welfare of the church4     

,their path to ,heaven is a kind of     
gallery directly over the path to ,hell2
 or1 rather1 it is the same road1 only  
that at the end of it you kneel down1   
lift up your hands and eyes1 and say you
 have gone wrong1 and you are admitted  
into the right-hand gate1 instead of the
 left-hand one4 ,hell is said1 in the   
strong language of controversial        
divinity1 to be #8paved with good       
intentions4' ,heaven1 according to some 
fanatical creeds1 is #8paved with       
mock-professions4' ,devotees and        
proselytes are passed on like wretched  
paupers1 with false certificates of     
merit1 by hypocrites and bigots1 who    
consider submission to their opinions   
and power as more than equivalent to a  
conformity to the dictates of reason or 
the will of ,god4 ,all this is charged  
with being a great piece of cant and    
imposture3 it is not more so than human 
nature itself4 ,popery is said to be a  
make-believe religion3 man is a         
make-believe animal--he is never so     

truly himself as when he is acting a    
part2 he is ever at war with            
himself--his theory with his            
practice--what he would be 7and         
therefore pretends to be7 with what he  
is2 and ,popery is an admirable receipt 
to reconcile his higher and his lower   
nature in a beautiful equivoque or      
double-entendre of forms and            
mysteries1--the palpableness of sense   
with the dim abstractions of faith1 the 
indulgence of passion with the atonement
 of confession and abject repentance    
when the fit is over1 the debasement of 
the actual with the elevation of the    
ideal part of man's nature1 the ,pagan  
with the ,christian religion2 to        
substitute lip-service1 genuflections1  
adoration of images1 counting of beads1 
repeating of ,aves for useful works or  
pure intentions1 and to get rid at once 
of all moral obligation1 of all         
self-control and self-respect1 by the   
proxy of maudlin superstition1 by a     
slavish submission to priests and       

saints1 by prostrating ourselves before 
them1 and entreating them to take our   
sins and weaknesses upon them1 and      
supply us with a saving grace 7at the   
expence of a routine of empty forms and 
words7 out of the abundance of their    
merits and imputed righteousness4 ,this 
religion suits the pride and weakness of
 man's intellect1 the indolence of his  
will1 the cowardliness of his fears1 the
 vanity of his hopes1 his disposition to
 reap the profits of a good thing and   
leave the trouble to others1 the        
magnificence of his pretensions with the
 meanness of his performance1 the       
pampering of his passions1 the stifling 
of his remorse1 the making sure of this 
world and the next1 the saving of his   
soul and the comforting of his body4 ,it
 is adapted equally to kings and        
people--to those who love power or dread
 it--who look up to others as ,gods1 or 
who would trample them under their feet 
as reptiles--to the devotees of show and
 sound1 or the visionary and gloomy     

recluse--to the hypocrite and bigot--to 
saints or sinners--to fools or          
knaves--to men1 women1 and children4 ,in
 short1 its success is owing to this1   
that it is a mixture of bitter          
sweets--that it is a remedy that soothes
 the disease it affects to cure--that it
 is not an antidote1 but a vent for the 
peccant humours1 the follies and vices  
of mankind1 with a salvo in favour of   
appearances1 a reserve of loftier       
aspirations 7whenever it is convenient  
to resort to them71 and a formal        
recognition of certain general          
principles1 as a courtesy of speech1 or 
a compromise between the understanding  
and the passions6 ,omne tulit punctum4  
,there is nothing to be said against it1
 but that it is contrary to reason and  
common sense2 and even were they to     
prevail over it1 some other absurdity   
would start up in its stead1 not less   
mischievous but less amusing2 for man   
cannot exist long without having scope  
given to his propensity to the          

marvellous and contradictory4 ,methodism
 with us is only a bastard kind of      
,popery1 with which the rabble are      
intoxicated2 and to which even the      
mistresses of ,kings might resort 7but  
for its vulgarity7 to repair faded      
charms with divine graces1 to exchange  
the sighs of passion for the tears of a 
no less luxurious repentance1 and to    
exert one more act of power by making   
proselytes of their royal paramours6    
,the ,popish calendar is but a          
transposition of the ,pagan ,mythology4 
,the images1 shrines1 and pictures of   
the ,virgin ,mary1 that we meet at the  
corner of every street or turning of a  
road1 are not of modern date1 but coeval
 with the old ,greek and ,roman         
superstitions4 ,there were the same     
shrines and images formerly dedicated to
 ,flora1 or ,ceres1 or ,pomona1 and the 
flowers and the urn still remain4 ,the  
oaths of the common people are to this  
day more ,heathen than ,catholic4 ,they 
swear #8,by the countenance of          

,bacchus'--#8,by the heart of ,diana4'  
,a knavish innkeeper1 if you complain of
 the badness of his wine1 swears #8,per 
,bacco e per ,dio1' #8,by ,bacchus and  
by ,god1 that it is good6' ,i wonder    
when the change in the forms of         
image-worship took place in the old     
,roman ,states1 and what effect it had4 
,i used formerly to wonder how or when  
the people in the mountains of          
,cumberland and ,westmoreland1 and who  
live in solitudes to which the town of  
,keswick is the polite world1 and its   
lake #8the ,leman-,lake1' first passed  
from ,popery to ,protestantism1 what    
difference it made in them at the time1 
or has done to the present day8 ,the    
answer to this question would go a good 
way to shew how little the common people
 know of or care for any theory of      
religion1 considered merely as such4    
,mr4 ,southey is on the spot1 and might 
do something towards a solution of the  
difficulty6  ,customs come round4 ,i was
 surprised to find1 at the ,hotel of the

 ,four ,nations1 where we stopped the   
two first days1 that we could have a    
pudding for dinner 7a thing that is not 
to be had in all ,france72 and ,i       
concluded this was a luxury which the   
,italians had been compelled to adopt   
from the influx of the ,english1 and the
 loudness of their demands for comfort4 
,i understand it is more probable that  
this dish is indigenous rather than     
naturalized2 and that we got it from    
them in the time of ,queen ,elizabeth1  
when our intercourse with ,italy was    
more frequent than it was with ,france4 
,we might have remained at the ,four    
,nations2 for eighteen francs a day1    
living in a very sumptuous manner2 but  
we have removed to apartments fitted up 
in the ,english fashion1 for ten        
piastres 7two guineas7 a month1 and     
where the whole of our expenses for     
boiled and roast1 with ,english cups and
 saucers and steamed potatoes1 does not 
come to thirty shillings a week4 ,we    
have every ,english comfort with clearer

 air and a finer country4 ,it was       
exceedingly cold when we first came1 and
 we felt it the more from impatience and
 disappointment4 ,from the thinness of  
the air there was a feeling of nakedness
 about you2 you seemed as if placed in  
an empty receiver4 ,not a particle of   
warmth or feeling was left in your whole
 body3 it was just as if the spirit of  
cold had penetrated every part2 one     
might be said to be vitrified4 ,it is   
now milder 7,feb4 #bc71 and like ,april 
weather in ,england4 ,there is a balmy  
lightness and vernal freshness in the   
air4 ,might ,i once more see the coming 
on of ,spring as erst in the spring-time
 of my life1 it would be here6 ,i cannot
 speak to the subject of manners in this
 place1 except as to outward            
appearances1 which are the same as in a 
country town in ,england4 ,judging by   
the fashionable test on this subject1   
they must be very bad and desperate     
indeed2 for none of that stream of      
prostitution flows down the streets1    

that in the ,british metropolis is      
supposed to purify the morality of      
private families1 and to carry off every
 taint of grossness or licentiousness   
from the female heart4 ,cecisbeism still
 prevails here1 less in the upper1 more 
in the lower classes2 and may serve as a
 subject for the ,english to vent their 
spleen and outrageous love of virtue    
upon4  ,fesole1 that makes so striking a
 point of view near ,florence1 was one  
of the twelve old ,tuscan cities that   
existed before the time of the ,romans1 
and afterwards in a state of hostility  
to them4 ,it is supposed to have been   
originally founded by a ,greek colony   
that came over with ,cecrops1 and others
 go back to the time of ,japhet or to   
,hesiod's theogony4 ,florence was not   
founded till long after4 ,it is said to 
have occupied the three conically-shaped
 hills which stand about three miles    
from ,florence4 ,here was fought the    
last great battle between ,catiline and 
the ,senate2 and here the ,romans       

besieged and starved to death an army of
 the ,goths4 ,it is a place of the      
highest antiquity and renown1 but it    
does not bear the stamp of anything     
extraordinary upon its face4 ,you stand 
upon a bleak1 rocky hill1 without       
suspecting it to have been the centre of
 a thronged population1 the seat of     
battles and of mighty events in eldest  
times4 ,so you pass through cities and  
stately palaces1 and cannot be persuaded
 that1 one day1 no trace of them will be
 left4 ,italy is not favourable to the  
look of age or of length of time4 ,the  
ravages of the climate are less fatal2  
the oldest places seem rather deserted  
than mouldering into ruin1 and the youth
 and beauty of surrounding objects mixes
 itself up even with the traces of      
devastation and decay4 ,the monuments of
 antiquity appear to enjoy a green old  
age in the midst of the smiling         
productions of modern civilization4 ,the
 gloom of the seasons does not at any   
rate add its weight to the gloom and    

antiquity4 ,it was in ,italy1 ,i        
believe1 that ,milton had the spirit and
 buoyancy of imagination to write his   
,latin sonnet on the ,platonic idea of  
the archetype of the world1 where he    
describes the shadowy cave in which     
#8dwelt ,eternity' 7otiosa eternitas71  
and ridicules the apprehension that     
,nature could ever grow old1 or #8shake 
her starry head with palsy4' ,it has    
been well observed1 that there is more  
of the germ of ,paradise ,lost in the   
author's early ,latin poems1 than in his
 early ,english ones1 which are in a    
strain rather playful and tender1 than  
stately or sublime4 ,it is said that    
several of ,milton's ,poems1 which he   
wrote at this period1 are preserved in  
manuscript in the libraries in          
,florence2 but it is probable that if   
so1 they are no more than duplicates of 
those already known1 which he gave to   
friends4 ,his reputation here was high1 
and delightful to think of2 and a volume
 was dedicated to him by ,malatesta1 a  

poet of the day1 and a friend of        
,redi--#8,to the ingenuous and learned  
young ,englishman1 ,john ,milton4' ,when
 one thinks of the poor figure which our
 countrymen often make abroad1 and also 
of the supposed reserved habits and     
puritanical sourness of our great       
,english ,epic ,poet1 one is a little in
 pain for his reception among foreigners
 and surprised at his success1 for      
which1 perhaps1 his other               
accomplishments 7as his skill in music7 
and his personal advantages1 may1 in    
some measure1 account4 ,there is another
 consideration to be added1 which is1   
that ,milton did not labour under the   
disadvantage of addressing foreigners in
 their native tongue1 but conversed with
 them on equal terms in ,latin4 ,that   
was surely the polite and enviable age  
of letters1 when the learned spoke a    
common and well-known tongue1 instead of
 petty1 huckstering1 ,gothic dialects of
 different nations6 ,now1 every one who 
is not a ,frenchman1 or who does not    

gabble ,french1 is no better than a     
stammerer or a changeling out of his own
 country4 ,i do not complain of this as 
a very great grievance2 but it certainly
 prevents those far-famed meetings      
between learned men of different        
nations1 which are recorded in history1 
as of ,sir ,thomas ,more with ,erasmus1 
and of ,milton with the philosophers and
 poets of ,italy4               #8,sweet
 is the dialect of ,arno's vale3        
,though half consumed1 ,i gladly turn to
 hear4'  ,so ,dante makes one of his    
heroes exclaim4 ,it is pleasant to hear 
or speak one's native tongue when       
abroad2 but possibly the language of    
that higher and adopted country1 which  
was familiar to the scholar of former   
times1 sounded even sweeter to the ear  
of friendship or of genius4             
,,chapter ,,xvii   ,the first thing you 
do when you get to a town abroad is to  
go to the ,post-office in expectation of
 letters1 which you are sure not to     
receive exactly in proportion as you are

 anxious to have them4 ,friends at a    
distance have you at a disadvantage2 and
 they let you know it1 if they will let 
you know nothing else4 ,there is in this
 a love of power or of contradiction1   
and at the same time a want of          
imagination4 ,they cannot change places 
with you1 or suppose how you can be so  
much at a loss about what is so obvious 
to them4 ,it seems putting them to      
unnecessary trouble to transmit a       
self-evident truth 7which it is upon the
 spot7 a thousand miles 7where it       
becomes a discovery74 ,you have this    
comfort1 however1 under the delay of    
letters1 that they have no bad news to  
send you1 or you would hear of it in an 
instant4  ,when you are disappointed of 
your letters at the post-office at      
,florence1 you turn round1 and find     
yourself in the square of the ,grand    
,duke1 with the old ,palace opposite to 
you1 and a number of colossal statues1  
bleached in the open air1 in front of   
it4 ,they seem a species of huge        

stone-masonry4 ,what is your surprise to
 learn1 that they are the ,hercules of  
,bandinello1 and the ,david of ,michael 
,angelo6 ,not far from these1 is the    
,perseus of ,benvenuto ,cellini1 which  
he makes such a fuss about in his       
,life4#da ,it is of bronze4 ,after a    
great deal of cabal1 before he was      
employed on this work1 and great        
hostility and disagreeable obstacles    
thrown in his way in the progress of it1
 he at length finished the mould1 and   
prepared to cast the figure4 ,he found  
that the copper which he had at first   
thrown in did not work kindly4 ,after   
one or two visits to the furnace1 he    
grew impatient1 and seizing on all the  
lead1 iron1 and brass he could lay his  
hands on in the house1 threw it         
pell-mell1 and in a fit of desperation1 
into the melting mass1 and retired to   
wait the result4 ,after passing an hour 
in the greatest agitation1 he returned2 
and inspecting the cast1 to his extreme 
joy discovered it to be smooth and      

perfect1 without a flaw in any part1    
except a dint in the heel4 ,he then sat 
down to enjoy his triumph over his      
enemies1 and to devour a cold chicken   
7which he had provided for his supper7  
with vast composure and relish4 ,it is a
 pity that a work produced under such   
auspicious circumstances does not       
altogether answer the romantic          
expectations formed of it4 ,there is    
something petty and forced about it2 and
 it smells of the goldsmith's and       
jeweller's shop4 ,i would rather see the
 large silver vase1 richly embossed by  
him with groups of flowers and figures1 
which was ordered by the ,pope and      
placed under his table for the          
,cardinals and other guests to throw    
their bones into1 instead of throwing   
them on the floor for the dogs to pick  
up1 as had hitherto been the custom--a  
fine proof of the mingled barbarism and 
refinement of those days4#db ,benvenuto 
was a character and a genius1 and more  
of a character than of a genius2 for1   

after all1 the greatest geniuses are    
#8men of no mark or likelihood4' ,their 
strongest impulses are not personal1 but
 pass out of themselves into the        
universe2 nor do they waste their       
energies upon their private whims and   
perverse peculiarities4 ,in ,bandinello 
one does not look for much2 he was never
 much esteemed1 and is made a butt of by
 ,benvenuto ,cellini4 ,but what shall we
 say to a commonplace or barbarous piece
 of work by ,michael ,angelo8 ,the      
,david is as if a large mass of solid   
marble fell upon one's head1 to crush   
one's faith in great names4 ,it looks   
like an awkward overgrown actor at one  
of our minor theatres1 without his      
clothes3 the head is too big for the    
body1 and it has a helpless expression  
of distress4 ,the ,bacchus in the       
,gallery1 by the same artist1 is no     
better4 ,it is potbellied1 lank1 and    
with a sickly1 mawkish aspect4 ,both    
these statues were1 it is true1 done    
when he was very young2 and the latter1 

when finished1 he buried underground1   
and had it dug up as an antique1 and    
when it was pronounced by the virtuosi  
of the day to be superior to any thing  
in modern art1 he produced the arm      
7which he had broken off71 and claimed  
it as his own1 to the confusion of his  
adversaries4 ,such is the story2 and    
under the safeguard of this tradition1  
it has passed1 criticism-proof4 ,there  
are two pictures here attributed to this
 great artist2 one in the ,gallery1 and 
another in the ,palace ,pitti1 of ,the  
,fates1 which are three meagre1 dry1    
mean-looking old women4 ,i shall not    
return to this subject till ,i get to   
the ,vatican1 and then ,i hope to tell a
 different story4 ,nothing more casts   
one down than to find an utter          
disproportion between the reality and   
one's previous conceptions in a case of 
this kind1 when one has been brooding   
all one's life over an idea of          
greatness4 ,if one could sneak off with 
one's disappointment in one's pocket1   

and say nothing about it1 or whisper it 
to the reeds1 or bury it in a hole1 or  
throw it into the river 7,arno71 where  
no one would fish it up1 it would not   
signify2 but to be obliged to note it in
 one's common-place book1 and publish it
 to all the world1 #8tis villainous6 ,it
 is well one can turn from disagreeable 
thoughts like these to a landscape of   
,titian's 7the ,holy ,family at the     
,pitti ,palace74 ,a green bank in the   
fore-ground presents a pastoral scene of
 sheep and cattle reposing2 then you    
have the deep green of the middle       
distance1 then the blue-topped hills1   
and the golden sky beyond1 with the red 
branches of an autumn wood rising into  
it2 and in the faces of the bending     
group you see the tints of the evening  
sky reflected1 and the freshness of the 
landscape breathed on their features4   
,the depth and harmony of colouring in  
natural objects1 refined in passing     
through the painter's mind1 mellowed by 
the hand of time1 has acquired the      

softness and shadowy brilliancy of a    
dream1 and while you gaze at it1 you    
seem to be entranced6 ,but to take      
things somewhat more in order4--  ,one  
of the striking things in the ,gallery  
at ,florence 7given to the ,city by one 
of the ,medici ,family7 is the          
,collection of ,antique ,busts4 ,the    
,statues of ,gods are the poetry of the 
art of that period4 ,the busts of men   
and women handed down to us are the     
history of the species4 ,you see the    
busts of ,vitellius 7whose throat seems 
bursting with #8the jowl' and a dish of 
lampreys71 ,galba1 ,trajan1 ,augustus1  
,julia1 ,faustina1 ,messalina2 and you  
ask1 were there real beings like these  
existing two thousand years ago8 ,it is 
an extension of the idea of humanity2   
and #8even in death there is animation  
too4' ,history is vague and shadowy1 but
 sculpture gives life and body to it2   
the names and letters in time-worn books
 start up real people in marble1 and you
 no longer doubt their identity with the

 present race4 ,nature produced forms   
then as perfect as she does             
now4--,forsyth and others have          
endeavoured to invalidate the           
authenticity of these busts1 and to shew
 that few of them can be traced with    
certainty to the persons whose names    
they bear4 ,that with me is not the     
question4 ,the interesting point is not 
to know who they were1 but that they    
were4 ,there is no doubt that they are  
busts of people living two thousand     
years ago1 and that is all that my moral
 demands4 ,as to individual character1  
it would be as well sometimes to find it
 involved in obscurity2 for some of the 
persons are better looking than for the 
truth of physiognomy they ought to be4  
,nero is as handsome a gentleman as his 
eulogists could wish him to be4 ,the    
truth is1 that what pleases me in these 
busts and others of the same kind that  
,i have seen is1 that they very much    
resemble ,english people of sense and   
education in the present day1 only with 

more regular features4 ,they are grave1 
thoughtful1 unaffected4 ,there is not a 
face among them that you could mistake  
for a ,french face4 ,these fine old     
heads1 in short1 confirm one in the idea
 of general humanity3 ,french faces     
stagger one's faith in the species6     
,there are two long galleries enriched  
with busts and statues of the most      
interesting description1 with a series  
of productions of the early ,florentine 
school1 the ,flying ,mercury of ,john of
 ,bologna1 c42 and in a room near the   
centre 7called the ,tribune7 stands the 
,venus of ,medici1 with some other      
statues and pictures not unworthy to do 
her homage4 ,i do not know what to say  
of the ,venus1 nor is it necessary to   
say much where all the world have       
already formed an opinion for           
themselves2 yet1 perhaps1 this opinion1 
which seems the most universal1 is the  
least so1 and the opinion of all the    
world means that of no one individual in
 it4 ,the end of criticism1 however1 is 

rather to direct attention to objects of
 taste1 than to dictate to it4 ,besides1
 one has seen the ,venus so often and in
 so many shapes1 that custom has blinded
 one equally to its merits or defects4  
,instead of giving an opinion1 one is   
disposed to turn round and ask1 #8,what 
do you think of it8' ,it is like a      
passage in the #8,elegant ,extracts1'   
which one has read and admired1 till one
 does not know what to make of it1 or   
how to affix any ideas to the words3    
beauty and sweetness end in an unmeaning
 commonplace6 ,if ,i might1             
notwithstanding1 hazard a               
hypercriticism1 ,i should say1 that it  
is a little too much like an exquisite  
marble doll4 ,i should conjecture 7for  
it is only conjecture where familiarity 
has neutralized the capacity of judging7
 that there is a want of sentiment1 of  
character1 a balance of pretensions as  
well as of attitude1 a good deal of     
insipidity1 and an over-gentility4      
,there is no expression of mental       

refinement1 nor much of voluptuous      
blandishment4 ,there is great softness1 
sweetness1 symmetry1 and timid grace--a 
faultless tameness1 a negative          
perfection4 ,the ,apollo ,belvidere is  
positively bad1 a theatrical coxcomb1   
and ill-made2 ,i mean compared with the 
,theseus4 ,the great objection to the   
,venus is1 that the form has not the    
true feminine proportions2 it is not    
sufficiently large in the lower limbs1  
but tapers too much to a point1 so that 
it wants firmness and a sort of indolent
 repose 7the proper attribute of woman71
 and seems as if the least thing would  
overset it4 ,in a word1 the ,venus is a 
very beautiful toy1 but not the ,goddess
 of ,love1 or even of ,beauty4 ,it is   
not the statue ,pygmalion fell in love  
with2 nor did any man ever wish or fancy
 his mistress to be like it4 ,there is  
something beyond it1 both in imagination
 and in nature4 ,neither have we a firm 
faith in the identity of the ,goddess2  
it is a nice point1 whether any such    

form ever existed4 ,now let us say what 
we will of the ideal1 it ought1 when    
embodied to the senses1 to bear the     
stamp of the most absolute reality1 for 
it is only an image taken from nature1  
with every thing omitted that might     
contradict or disturb its uniformity4   
,the ,venus is not a poetical and       
abstract personification of certain     
qualities2 but an individual model1 that
 has been altered and tampered with4 ,it
 would have had a better effect if      
executed in ivory1 with gold sandals and
 bracelets1 like that of ,phidias       
7mentioned by ,pliny71 to define its    
pretensions as belonging to the class of
 ornamental art2 for it neither carries 
the mind into the regions of ancient    
mythology1 nor of ancient poetry1 nor   
rises to an equality of style with      
modern poetry or painting4 ,raphael has 
figures of far greater grace1 both      
mental and bodily4 ,the ,apollo of      
,medicis1 which is in the same room1 is 
a very delightful specimen of ,grecian  

art2 but it has the fault of being of   
that equivocal size 7,i believe called  
small-life7 which looks like diminutive 
nature1 not nature diminished4          
,raphael's ,fornarina 7which is also in 
this highly-embellished cabinet of art7 
faces the ,venus1 and is a downright1   
point-blank contrast to it4 ,assuredly  
no charge can be brought against it of  
mimmini-piminee affectation or shrinking
 delicacy4 ,it is robust1 full to       
bursting1 coarse1 luxurious1 hardened1  
but wrought up to an infinite degree of 
exactness and beauty in the details4 ,it
 is the perfection of vulgarity and     
refinement together4 ,the ,fornarina is 
a bouncing1 buxom1 sullen1 saucy baker's
 daughter--but painted1 idolized1       
immortalized by ,raphael6 ,nothing can  
be more homely and repulsive than the   
original2 you see her bosom swelling    
like the dough rising in the oven2 the  
tightness of her skin puts you in mind  
of ,trim's story of the sausage-maker's 
wife--nothing can be much more          

enchanting than the picture--than the   
care and delight with which the artist  
has seized the lurking glances of the   
eye1 curved the corners of the mouth1   
smoothed the forehead1 dimpled the chin1
 rounded the neck1 till by innumerable  
delicate touches1 and the #8labour of   
love1' he has converted a coarse1 rude  
mass into a miracle of art4 ,raphael1 in
 the height of his devotion1 and as it  
were to insinuate that nothing could be 
too fine for this idol of his fancy 7as 
,rousseau prided himself in writing the 
letters of ,julia on the finest paper   
with gilt edges7 has painted the chain  
on the ,fornarina's neck with actual    
gold-leaf4 ,titian would never have     
thought of such a thing2 he could not   
have been guilty of such a solecism in  
painting1 as to introduce a solid       
substance without shadow4 ,highly as    
,raphael has laboured this portrait1 it 
still shows his inferiority to ,titian  
in the imitative part of painting4 ,the 
colour on the cheeks of the ,fornarina  

seems laid on the skin2 in the girl by  
,titian at the ,pitti ,palace1 it is    
seen through it4 ,the one appears tanned
 by the sun2 the other to have been out 
in the air1 or is like a flower #8just  
washed in the dew4' ,again1 the surface 
of the flesh in ,raphael is so smooth1  
that you are tempted to touch it3 in    
,titian1 it retires from the touch into 
a shadowy recess4 ,there is here a      
duplicate 7varied7 of his ,mistress at  
her ,toilette 7to be seen in the        
,louvre71 dressed in a loose night-robe1
 and with the bosom nearly bare4 ,it is 
very carefully finished1 and is a rich  
study of colouring1 expression1 and     
natural grace4 ,of the ,titian ,venus   
7with her gouvernante and chest of      
clothes in the background7 ,i cannot say
 much4 ,it is very like the common      
print4 ,the ,endymion by ,guercino has a
 divine character of pensive softness1  
and youthful1 manly grace1 and the      
impression made by the picture answers  
to that made by the fable--an excellent 

thing in history6 ,it is one of the     
finest pictures in ,florence4 ,i should 
never have done if ,i were to go into   
the details4 ,i can only mention a few  
of the principal4 ,near the ,fornarina  
is the ,young ,st4 ,john in the         
,wilderness1 by ,raphael2 it is very    
dark1 very hard1 and very fine1 like an 
admirable carving in wood4 ,he has here 
also two ,holy ,families1 full of       
playful sweetness and mild repose4      
,there are also two by ,correggio of the
 same subject1 and a fine and bold study
 of the ,head of a ,boy4 ,there is a    
spirit of joy and laughing grace        
contained in this head1 as the juice of 
wine is in the grape4 ,correggio had a  
prodigious raciness and gusto1 when he  
did not fritter them away by false      
refinement and a sort of fastidious     
hypercriticism upon himself4 ,his       
sketches1 ,i suspect1 are better than   
his finished works4 ,one of the ,holy   
,families here is the very acme of the  
affettuoso and ,della ,cruscan style of 

painting4 ,the figure of the ,madonna is
 like a studiously-involved period or   
turn upon words3 the infant ,christ on  
the ground is a diminutive appellation1 
a prettiness1 a fairy-fancy4 ,certainly1
 it bears no proportion to the ,mother1 
whose hands are bent back over it with  
admiration and delight1 till grace      
becomes a cramp1 and her eye-lids droop 
and quiver over the fluttering object of
 her #8strange child-worship1' almost as
 if they were moved by metallic         
tractors4 ,the other ,madonna is        
perfectly free from any taint of        
affectation4 ,it is a plain rustic      
beauty1 innocent1 interesting1 simple1  
without one contortion of body or of    
mind4 ,it is sweetly painted4 ,the      
,child is also a pure study after       
nature3 the blood is tingling in his    
veins1 and his face has an admirable    
expression of careless infantine        
impatience4 ,the old ,man at the side is
 a master-piece1 with all this painter's
 knowledge of foreshortening1           

chiaro-scuro1 the management of drapery1
 c4 ,herodias's ,daughter1 by ,luini1 is
 an elaborate and successful imitation  
of ,leonardo da ,vinci4 ,the ,medusa's  
,head of the latter is hardly1 ,i think1
 so fine as ,barry's description of it4 
,it has not quite the watery            
languor--the dim obscurity4 ,the eyes of
 the female are too much like the eyes  
of the snakes1 red1 crusted1 and edgy4  
,i shall only notice one picture more in
 this collection--the ,last ,judgment1  
by ,bronzino4 ,it has vast merit in the 
drawing and expression1 but its most    
remarkable quality is the amazing relief
 without any perceivable shadow1 and the
 utmost clearness with the smallest     
possible variety of tint4 ,it looks like
 a ,mosaic painting4 ,the specimens of  
the ,dutch and other foreign schools    
here are upon a small scale1 and of     
inferior value4  ,the ,palace ,pitti was
 begun by one of the ,strozzi1 who      
boasted that he would build a palace    
with a court-yard in it1 in which       

another palace might dance4 ,he had     
nearly ruined himself by the expense1   
when one of the ,medici took it off his 
hands and completed it4 ,it is at       
present the residence of the ,grand     
,duke4 ,the view within over the        
court-yard to the terrace and mount     
above is superb4 ,here is the ,venus of 
,canova1 an elegant sylph-like figure2  
but ,canova was more to be admired for  
delicacy of finishing1 than for         
expression or conception of general     
form4 ,at the ,gallery there is one room
 full of extraordinary pictures and     
statues3 at the ,palace ,pitti there are
 six or seven covered with some of the  
finest portraits and history-pieces in  
the world1 and the walls are dark with  
beauty1 and breathe an air of the       
highest art from them4 ,it is one of the
 richest and most original ,collections 
,i have seen4 ,it is not so remarkable  
for variety of style or subject as for a
 noble opulence and aristocratic pride1 
having to boast names in the highest    

ranks of art1 and many of their best    
works4 ,the ,palace ,pitti formerly     
figured in the ,catalogue of the        
,louvre1 which it had contributed to    
enrich with many of its most gorgeous   
jewels1 which have been brought back to 
their original situation1 and which now 
shine here1 though not with unreflected 
lustre1 nor in solitary state4 ,among   
these1 for instance1 is ,titian's       
,hippolito di ,medici 7which the late   
,mr4 ,opie pronounced the finest        
portrait in the world71 with the spirit 
and breadth of history1 and with the    
richness1 finish1 and glossiness of an  
enamel picture4 ,i remember the first   
time ,i ever saw it1 it stood on an     
easel which ,i had to pass1 with the    
back to me1 and as ,i turned and saw it 
with the boar-spear in its hand1 and its
 keen glance bent upon me1 it seemed #8a
 thing of life1' with supernatural force
 and grandeur4 ,the famous music-piece  
by ,giorgioni was at one time in the    
,louvre1 and is not a whit inferior to  

,titian4 ,the head turned round of the  
man playing on the harpsichord1 for air1
 expression1 and a true gusto of        
colouring1 may challenge competition all
 the world through4 ,there goes a       
tradition that these are the portraits  
of ,luther and ,calvin4 ,giorgioni died 
at the age of thirty-four1 heart-broken1
 it is said1 because one of his scholars
 had robbed him of his                  
mistress--possibly the very beauty whose
 picture is introduced here4 ,leo ,x41  
by ,raphael1 that fine1 stern1 globular 
head1 on which #8deliberation sits and  
public care1' is in the same room with  
the ,cardinal ,bentivoglio1 one of      
,vandyke's happiest and most spiritual  
heads--a fine group of portraits by     
,rubens1 of himself1 his brother1       
,grotius and ,justus ,lipsius1 all in   
one frame--an admirable ,holy ,family1  
in this master's very best manner1 by   
,julio ,romano--and the ,madonna della  
,seggia of ,raphael--all of these were  
formerly in the ,louvre4 ,the last is   

painted on wood1 and worn1 so as to have
 a crayon look4 ,but for the grouping1  
the unconscious look of intelligence in 
the children1 and the rounding and      
fleshiness of the forms of their limbs1 
this is one of the artist's most        
unrivalled works4 ,there are also       
several by ,andrea del ,sarto1 conceived
 and finished with the highest taste and
 truth of feeling2 a ,nymph and ,satyr  
by ,giorgioni1 of great gusto2 ,hercules
 and ,antus1 by ,schiavoni 7an admirable
 study of bold drawing and poetical     
colouring71 an unfinished sketch by     
,guido1 several by ,cigoli and ,fra4    
,bartolomeo2 a girl in a flowered dress1
 by ,titian 7of which ,mr4 ,northcote   
possesses a beautiful copy by ,sir      
,joshua72 another portrait of a ,man in 
front view and a ,holy ,family1 by the  
same2 and one or two fine pieces by     
,rubens and ,rembrandt4 ,there is a     
,parmegiano here1 in which is to be seen
 the origin of ,mr4 ,fuseli's style1 a  
child in its mother's lap1 with its head

 rolling away from its body1 the        
mother's face looking down upon it with 
green and red cheeks tapering to a      
point1 and a thigh of an angel1 which   
you cannot well piece to an urn which he
 carries in his hand1 and which seems   
like a huge scale of the #8shard-borne  
beetle4'--,the grotesque and            
discontinuous are1 in fact1 carried to  
their height4 ,here is also the         
,conspiracy of ,catiline1 by ,salvator  
,rosa1 which looks more like a          
,cato-street ,conspiracy than any thing 
else1 or a bargain struck in a          
blacksmith's shop2 and a ,battle-piece  
by the same artist1 with the round      
haunches and flowing tail of a white    
horse repeated1 and some fierce faces1  
hid by the smoke and their helmets1 of  
which you can make neither head nor     
tail4 ,salvator was a great             
landscape-painter2 but both he and ,lady
 ,morgan have been guilty of a great    
piece of egotism in supposing that he   
was any thing more4 ,these are the chief

 failures1 but in general out of heaps  
of pictures there is scarce one that is 
not of the highest interest both in     
itself1 and from collateral             
circumstances4 ,those who come in search
 of high ,italian art will here find it 
in perfection2 and if they do not feel  
this1 they may turn back at once4 ,the  
pictures in the ,pitti ,palace are      
finely preserved1 and have that deep1   
mellow tone of age upon them which is to
 the eyes of a connoisseur in painting  
as the rust of medals or the crust on   
wine is to connoisseurs and judges of a 
different stamp4                        
,,chapter ,,xviii   ,the road between   
,florence and ,rome by ,sienna is not   
very interesting1 though it presents a  
number of reflections to those who are  
well acquainted with the changes that   
have taken place in the history and     
agriculture of these districts4 ,shortly
 after you leave ,florence1 the way     
becomes dreary and barren or unhealthy4 
,towards the close of the first day's   

journey1 however1 we had a splendid view
 of the country we were to travel1 which
 lay stretched out beneath our feet to  
an immense distance1 as we descended    
into the little town of ,pozzo ,borgo4  
,deep valleys sloped on each side of us1
 from which the smoke of cottages       
occasionally curled3 the branches of an 
overhanging birch-tree or a neighbouring
 ruin gave relief to the grey1 misty    
landscape1 which was streaked by dark   
pine-forests1 and speckled by the       
passing clouds2 and in the extreme      
distance rose a range of hills          
glittering in the evening sun1 and      
scarcely distinguishable from the ridge 
of clouds that hovered near them4 ,we   
did not reach these hills 7on the top of
 one of which stands the fort of        
,radicofani7 till the end of two days'  
journey1 making a distance of between   
fifty and sixty miles1 so that their    
miniature size and fairy splendour1 as  
they crowned the far-off horizon1 may be
 easily guessed4 ,we did not find the   

accommodation on the road quite so bad  
as we had expected4 ,the chief want is  
of milk1 which is to be had only in the 
morning2 but we remedied this defect by 
a taking a bottle of it with us4 ,the   
weather was cold enough 7in the middle  
of ,march7 to freeze it4 ,the economy of
 life is here reduced to a very great   
simplicity1 absolute necessaries from   
day to day and from hand to mouth2 and  
nothing is allowed for the chapter of   
accidents1 or the irregular intrusion of
 strangers4 ,the mechanism of ,english  
inns is accounted for by the certainty  
of the arrival of customers1 with full  
pockets and empty stomachs4 ,there every
 road is a thoroughfare2 here a         
traveller is a curiosity1 and we did not
 meet ten carriages on our journey1 a   
distance of a hundred and ninety-three  
miles1 and which it took us six days to 
accomplish4 ,i may add that we paid only
 seven louis for our two places in the  
,voiture 7which1 besides1 we had        
entirely to ourselves7 our expences on  

the road included4 ,this is cheap       
enough4  ,sienna is a fine old town1 but
 more like a receptacle of the dead than
 the residence of the living4 #8,,it    
,,was1' might be written over the       
entrance to this1 as to most of the     
towns in ,italy4 ,the magnificence of   
the buildings corresponds but ill with  
the squalidness of the inhabitants2     
there seems no reason for crowding the  
streets so close together when there are
 so few people in them4 ,there is at    
present no enemy without to huddle them 
together within the walls1 whatever     
might have been the case in former      
times3 for miles you do not meet a human
 being1 or discern the traces of a human
 dwelling4 ,the view through the noble  
arch of the gate as you leave ,sienna is
 at once exquisitely romantic and       
picturesque3 otherwise1 the country     
presents a most deplorable aspect for a 
length of way4 ,nature seems to have    
here taken it upon her to play the part 
of a cinder-wench1 and to have thrown up

 her incessant heaps of clay and ashes1 
without either dignity or grace4 ,at a  
distance to the right and left1 you see 
the stately remains of the ancient      
,etruscan cities1 cresting the heights  
and built for defence2 and here and     
there1 perched on the top of a cliff1   
the ruinous haunt of some bandit chief  
7the scourge of later days71 that might 
be compared in imagination to some      
dragon1 old and blind1 still watching   
for its long-lost prey1 and sharing the 
desolation it has made4 ,there are two  
of these near the wretched inn of ,la   
,scala1 where we stopped the third      
morning1 rising in lonely horror from   
the very point of two hills1 facing each
 other and only divided by a brook1 that
 baffle description1 and require the    
artist's boldest pencil4 ,aided by the  
surrounding gloom1 and shrouded by the  
driving mist 7as they were when we      
passed71 they throw the mind back into a
 trance of former times1 and the cry of 
midnight revelry1 of midnight murder is 

heard from the crumbling walls4 ,the    
romantic bridge and hamlet under them   
begins the ascent of ,radicofani4 ,the  
extensive ruin at the top meets your    
view and disappears repeatedly during   
the long1 winding1 toilsome ascent4     
,over a tremendous valley to the left1  
we saw the distant hills of ,perugia1   
covered with snow and blackened with    
clouds1 and a heavy sleet was falling   
around us4 ,we started1 on being told   
that the post-house stood directly on   
the other side of the fort 7at a height 
of #bdjj feet above the level of the    
sea71 and that we were to pass the night
 there4 ,it was like being lodged in a  
cloud3 it seemed the very rocking-cradle
 of storms and tempests4 ,as we wound   
round the road at the foot of it1 we    
were relieved from our apprehensions4   
,it was a fortress built by stubborn    
violence for itself1 that might be said 
to scowl defiance on the world below1   
and to promise security and shelter to  
those within its reach4 ,huge heaps of  

round stones1 gnarled like iron1 and    
that looked as if they would break the  
feet that trusted themselves among them1
 were rolled into the space between the 
heights and the road-side4 ,the middle  
or principal turret1 which rose between 
the other two1 was thrown into momentary
 perspective by the mist2 a fragment of 
an outer wall stood beneath1 half       
covered with ivy2 close to it was an old
 chapel-spire built of red brick1 and a 
small hamlet crouched beneath the       
ramparts4 ,it reminded me1 by its       
preternatural strength and sullen       
aspect1 of the castle of ,giant ,despair
 in ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,the dark
 and stern spirit of former times might 
be conceived to have entrenched itself  
here as in its last hold2 to have looked
 out and laughed at precipices and      
storms1 and the puny assaults of hostile
 bands1 and resting on its red right    
arm1 to have wasted away through        
inaction and disuse in its              
unapproachable solitude and barbarous   

desolation4 ,never did ,i see any thing 
so rugged and so stately1 apparently so 
formidable in a former period1 so       
forlorn in this4 ,it was a majestic     
shadow of the mighty past1 suspended in 
another region1 belonging to another    
age4 ,i might take leave of it in the   
words of old ,burnet1 whose ,latin glows
 among these cold hills1 ,vale augusta  
sedes1 digna rege2 vale augusta rupes1  
semper mihi memoranda6--,we drove into  
the inn-yard1 which resembled a barrack 
7so do most of the inns on the road71   
with its bed-rooms like hospital-wards1 
and its large apartments for assemblages
 of armed men1 now empty1 gloomy1 and   
unfurnished2 but where we found a       
hospitable welcome1 and by the aid of a 
double fee to the waiters every thing   
very comfortable4 ,the first object was 
to procure milk for our tea 7of which   
last article we had brought some very   
good from the shop of ,signor ,pippini1 
at ,florence#dc7 and the next thing was 
to lay in a stock for the remaining half

 of our journey4 ,we were not sorry to  
pass a night at the height of #bdjj feet
 above the level of the sea1 and        
immediately under this famous fortress4 
,the winds #8howled through the vacant  
guard-rooms and deserted lobbies' of our
 hostelry1 and the snow descended in a  
heavy fall1 and covered the valleys2 but
 ,radicofani looked the same1 as we saw 
it through the coach-windows the next   
morning1 old1 grey1 deserted1 gloomy1 as
 if it had survived #8a thousand storms1
 a thousand winters'--the peasant still 
crawled along its trenches1 the         
traveller stopped to gaze at its        
battlements--but neither spear nor      
battle-axe would glitter there again1   
nor banner be spread1 nor the clash of  
arms be heard in the round of           
ever-rolling years--it looked back to   
other times as we looked back upon it1  
and stood towering in its decay1 and    
nodding to an eternal repose6 ,the road 
in this1 as in other parts of ,italy1 is
 evidently calculated1 and was          

originally constructed1 for the march of
 an army4 ,instead of creeping along the
 valleys1 it passes along the ridges of 
hills to prevent surprise1 or watch the 
movements of an enemy1 and thus         
generally commands an extensive view of 
the country1 such as it is4 ,it was long
 before winding slowly into the valley1 
we lost sight of our last night's       
station4  ,aquapendente is situated on  
the brow of a hill1 over a running      
stream1 as its name indicates1 and the  
ascent to it is up the side of a steep  
rugged ravine1 with overhanging rocks   
and shrubs4 ,the mixture of wildness and
 luxuriance answered to my idea of      
,italian scenery1 but ,i had seen little
 of it hitherto4 ,the town is old1      
dirty1 and disagreeable2 and we were    
driven to an inn in one of the          
bye-streets1 where there was but one    
sitting-room1 which was occupied by an  
,english family1 who were going to leave
 it immediately1 but who1 ,i suppose1 on
 hearing that some one else was waiting 

for it1 claimed the right of keeping it 
as long as they pleased4 ,the assertion 
of an abstract right is the idea        
uppermost in the minds of all ,english  
people4 ,unfortunately1 when its        
attainment is worth any thing1 their    
spirit of contradiction makes them ready
 to relinquish it2 or when it costs them
 any thing1 their spirit of             
self-interest deters them from the      
pursuit6 ,after waiting some time1 we at
 last breakfasted in a sort of kitchen  
or outhouse upstairs1 where we had very 
excellent but homely fare1 and where we 
were amused with the furniture--a       
dove-house1 a kid1 half-skinned1 hanging
 on the walls2 a loose heap of macaroni 
and vegetables in one corner1 plenty of 
smoke1 a ,madonna carved and painted1   
and a map of ,constantinople4 ,the      
pigeons on the floor were busy with     
their murmuring plaints1 and often      
fluttered their wings as if to fly4 ,so1
 thought ,i1 the nations of the earth   
clap their wings1 and strive in vain to 

be free6 ,the landlady was a woman about
 forty1 diminutive and sickly1 but with 
one of those pale1 mild1 penetrating    
faces which one seldom sees out of      
,italy4 ,she was the mother of two buxom
 daughters1 as coarse and hard as any   
thing of the kind one might meet with in
 ,herefordshire or ,gloucestershire6    
,the road from ,aquapendente is of a    
deep heavy soil1 over which the horses  
with difficulty dragged the carriage1   
,the view on one side was bounded by two
 fine conical hills clothed to the very 
top with thick woods of beech and fir2  
and our route lay for miles over an     
undulating ground covered with the wild 
broom 7growing to the size of a large   
shrub71 among which herds of            
slate-coloured oxen were seen browzing  
luxuriously4 ,the broom floated above   
them1 their covering and their food1    
with its flexible silken branches of    
light green1 and presented an eastern   
scene1 extensive1 soft and wild4 ,we    
passed1 ,i think1 but one habitation    

between ,aquapendente and ,san ,lorenzo1
 and met but one human being1 which was 
a ,gen d',armes6 ,i asked our ,vetturino
 if this dreary aspect of the country   
was the effect of nature or of art4 ,he 
pulled a handful of earth from the      
hedge-side1 and shewed a rich black     
loam1 capable of every improvement4 ,i  
asked in whose dominions we were1 and   
received for answer1 #8,in the ,pope's4'
 ,san ,lorenzo is a town built on the   
summit of a hill1 in consequence of the 
ravages of the malaria in the old town1 
situated in the valley below4 ,it looks 
like a large alms-house1 or else like a 
town that has run away from the plague  
and itself1 and stops suddenly on the   
brow of a hill to see if the ,devil is  
following it4 ,the ruins below are the  
most ghastly ,i ever saw4 ,the scattered
 fragments of walls and houses are      
crumbling away like rotten bones1 and   
there are holes in the walls and        
subterraneous passages1 in which        
disease1 like an ugly witch1 seems to   

lurk and to forbid your entrance4       
,further on1 and winding round the edge 
of the lake1 you come to ,bolsena4 ,the 
unwholesome nature of the air from the  
water may be judged of from the colour  
of the tops of the houses1 the moss on  
which is as yellow as the jaundice1 and 
the grass and corn-fields on its borders
 are of a tawny green4 ,the road between
 this and ,monte-,fiascone1 which you   
see on an eminence before you1 lies     
through a range of gloomy defiles1 and  
is deformed by the blackened corses of  
huge oak-trees1 that strew the          
road-side1 the unsightly relics of fine 
old woods that were cut down and        
half-burnt a few years ago as the haunts
 of bands of robbers4 ,they plant morals
 in this country by rooting up trees6   
,while the country is worth seeing1 it  
is not safe to travel2 but picturesque  
beauty must1 of course1 give place to   
the police4 ,i thought1 when ,i first   
saw these cadaverous trunks lying by the
 side of the lake1 that they were the   

useless remains of cargoes of timber    
that we had purchased of the ,holy ,see 
to fight its battles1 and maintain the  
cause of social order in every part of  
the world6 ,let no ,english traveller   
stop at ,monte-,fiascone 7,i mean at the
 inn outside the town71 unless he would 
be starved and smoke-dried1 but pass on 
to ,viterbo1 which is a handsome town1  
with the best inn on the road4 ,you pass
 one night more on the road in this mode
 of travelling 7which resembles walking 
a minuet1 rather than striking up a     
country dance7 at ,ronciglione2 and the 
next day from ,baccano1 you see rising  
up1 in a flat1 hazy plain1 the dome of  
,st4 ,peter's4 ,you proceed for some    
miles along a gradual descent without   
any object of much interest1 pass the   
,tiber and the gate ,del ,popolo1 and   
you are in ,rome4 ,when there1 go any   
where but to ,franks's ,hotel1 and get a
 lodging1 if possible1 on the ,via      
,gregoriana1 which overlooks the town1  
and where you can feast the eye and     

indulge in sentiment1 without being     
poisoned by bad air4 ,the house of      
,salvator ,rosa is at present let out in
 lodgings4 ,i have now lived twice in   
houses occupied by celebrated men1 once 
in a house that had belonged to ,milton1
 and now in this1 and find to my        
mortification that imagination1 is      
entirely a thing imaginary1 and has     
nothing to do with matter of fact1      
history1 or the senses4 ,to see an      
object of thought or fancy is just as   
impossible as to feel a sound or hear a 
smell4                                  
,,chapter ,,xix   #8,as ,london is to   
the meanest country town1 so is ,rome to
 every other city in the world4'  ,so   
said an old friend of mine1 and ,i      
believed him till ,i saw it4 ,this is   
not the ,rome ,i expected to see4 ,no   
one from being in it would know he was  
in the place that had been twice        
mistress of the world4 ,i do not        
understand how ,nicolas ,poussin could  
tell1 taking up a handful of earth1 that

 it was #8a part of the ,,eternal       
,,city4' ,in ,oxford an air of learning 
breathes from the very walls3 halls and 
colleges meet your eye in every         
direction2 you cannot for a moment      
forget where you are4 ,in ,london there 
is a look of wealth and populousness    
which is to be found nowhere else4 ,in  
,rome you are for the most part lost in 
a mass of tawdry1 fulsome common-places4
 ,it is not the contrast of pig-styes   
and palaces that ,i complain of1 the    
distinction between the old and new2    
what ,i object to is the want of any    
such striking contrast1 but an almost   
uninterrupted succession of narrow1     
vulgar-looking streets1 where the smell 
of garlick prevails over the odour of   
antiquity1 with the dingy1 melancholy   
flat fronts of modern-built houses1 that
 seem in search of an owner4 ,a         
dunghill1 an outhouse1 the weeds growing
 under an imperial arch offend me not2  
but what has a green-grocer's stall1 a  
stupid ,english china warehouse1 a      

putrid trattoria1 a barber's sign1 an   
old clothes or old picture shop or a    
,gothic palace1 with two or three       
lacqueys in modern liveries lounging at 
the gate1 to do with ancient ,rome8 ,no6
 this is not the wall that ,romulus     
leaped over3 this is not the ,capitol   
where ,julius ,csar fell3 instead of    
standing on seven hills1 it is situated 
in a low valley3 the golden ,tiber is a 
muddy stream3 ,st4 ,peter's is not equal
 to ,st4 ,paul's3 the ,vatican falls    
short of the ,louvre1 as it was in my   
time2 but ,i thought that here were     
works immoveable1 immortal1 inimitable  
on earth1 and lifting the soul half way 
to heaven4 ,i find them not1 or only    
what ,i had seen before in different    
ways3 the ,stanzas of ,raphael are      
faded1 or no better than the prints2 and
 the mind of ,michael ,angelo's figures1
 of which no traces are to be found in  
the copies1 is equally absent from the  
walls of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,rome is 
great only in ruins3 the ,coliseum1 the 

,pantheon1 the ,arch of ,constantine    
fully answered my expectations2 and an  
air breathes round her stately avenues1 
serene1 blissful1 like the mingled      
breath of spring and winter1 betwixt    
life and death1 betwixt hope and        
despair4 ,the country about ,rome is    
cheerless and barren4 ,there is little  
verdure1 nor are any trees planted1 on  
account of their bad effects on the air4
 ,happy climate6 in which shade and     
sunshine are alike fatal4 ,the ,jews 7,i
 may add while ,i think of it7 are shut 
up here in a quarter by themselves4 ,i  
see no reason for it4 ,it is a          
distinction not worth the making4 ,there
 was a talk 7it being ,anno ,santo7 of  
shutting them up for the whole of the   
present year4 ,a soldier stands at the  
gate1 to tell you that this is the      
,jews' quarter1 and to take any thing   
you choose to give him for this piece of
 ,christian information4 ,a ,catholic   
church stands outside their prison1 with
 a ,crucifixion painted on it as a      

frontispiece1 where they are obliged to 
hear a sermon in behalf of the truth of 
the ,christian religion every ,good     
,friday4 ,on the same day they used to  
make them run races in the ,corso1 for  
the amusement of the rabble 7high and   
low7--now they are compelled to provide 
horses for the same purpose4 ,owing to  
the politeness of the age1 they no      
longer burn them as of yore1 and that is
 something4 ,religious zeal1 like all   
other things1 grows old and feeble4     
,they treat the ,jews in this manner at 
,rome 7as a local courtesy to ,st4      
,peter71 and yet they compliment us on  
our increasing liberality to the ,irish 
,catholics4 ,the ,protestant chapel here
 stands outside the walls1 while there  
is a ,british monument to the memory of 
the ,stuarts1 inside of ,st4 ,peter's2  
the tombs in the ,english burying-ground
 were destroyed and defaced not long    
ago2 yet this did not prevent the       
,prince ,regent from exchanging         
portraits with the ,pope and his        

,ministers6--#8,oh6 liberalism--lovely  
liberalism6' as ,mr4 ,blackwood would   
say4  ,from the window of the house     
where ,i lodge1 ,i have a view of the   
whole city at once3 nay1 ,i can see ,st4
 ,peter's as ,i lie in bed of a morning4
 ,the town is an immense mass of solid  
stone-buildings1 streets1 palaces1 and  
churches2 but it has not the beauty of  
the environs of ,florence1 nor the      
splendid background of ,turin1 nor does 
it present any highly picturesque or    
commanding points of view like          
,edinburgh4 ,the pleasantest walks ,i   
know are round the ,via ,sistina1 and   
along the ,via di                       
,quattro-,fontane--they overlook ,rome  
from the ,north-,east on to the churches
 of ,santa ,maria ,maggiore1 and of ,st4
 ,john ,lateran1 towards the gate       
leading to ,naples4 ,as we loiter on1   
our attention was caught by an open     
greensward to the left1 with foot-paths1
 and a ruined wall and gardens on each  
side4 ,a carriage stood in the road just

 by1 and a gentleman and lady1 with a   
little child1 had got out of it to walk4
 ,a soldier and a girl were seen talking
 together further on1 and a herd of     
cattle were feeding at their leisure on 
the yielding turf4 ,the day was close   
and dry--not a breath stirred4 ,all was 
calm and silent4 ,it had been cold when 
we set out1 but here the air was        
soft--of an ,elysian temperature1 as if 
the winds did not dare to visit the     
sanctuaries of the dead too roughly4    
,the daisy sprung beneath our feet--the 
fruit-trees blossomed within the nodding
 arches4 ,on one side were seen the     
hills of ,albano1 on the other the      
,claudian gate2 and close by was ,nero's
 ,golden ,house1 where there were       
seventy thousand statues and pillars1 of
 marble and of silver1 and where senates
 kneeled1 and myriads shouted in honour 
of a frail mortal1 as of a ,god4 ,come  
here1 oh man6 and worship thine own     
spirit1 that can hoard up1 as in a      
shrine1 the treasures of two thousand   

years1 and can create out of the memory 
of fallen splendours and departed       
grandeur a solitude deeper than that of 
desert wildernesses1 and pour from the  
out-goings of thine own thoughts a      
thunder louder than that of maddening   
multitudes6 ,no place was ever so still 
as this2 for none was ever the scene of 
such pomp and triumph6 ,not far from    
this are the ,baths of ,titus2 the grass
 and the poppy 7the flower of oblivion7 
grow over them1 and in the vaults below 
they shew you 7by the help of a torch7  
paintings on the ceiling eighteen       
hundred years old1 birds1 and animals1 a
 figure of a slave1 a nymph and a       
huntsman1 fresh and elegantly           
foreshortened1 and also the place where 
the ,laocoon was discovered4 ,a few     
paces off is the ,coliseum1 or          
,amphitheatre of ,titus1 the noblest    
ruin in ,rome4 ,it is circular1 built of
 red stone and brick1 with arched       
windows1 and the gillyflower and fennel 
growing on its walls to the very top3   

one side is nearly perfect4 ,as you pass
 under it1 it seems to raise itself     
above you1 and mingle with the sky in   
its majestic simplicity1 as if earth    
were a thing too gross for it2 it stands
 almost unconscious of decay1 and may   
still stand for ages--though ,mr4       
,hobhouse has written ,annotations upon 
it6 ,there is a hypocritical inscription
 on it1 to say that it has been kept in 
repair by the ,popes1 in order to       
preserve the memory of the martyrs that 
suffered here in cruel combats with wild
 beasts4 ,as ,i have alluded to this    
subject1 ,i will add that ,i think the  
finest stanza in ,lord ,byron is that   
where he describes the ,dying           
,gladiator1 who falls and does not hear 
the shout of barbarous triumph echoing  
from these very walls3--           #8,he
 hears it not2 his thoughts are far     
away1          ,where his rude hut      
beside the ,danube lay2          ,there 
are his young barbarians1 all at play1  
,they and their ,dacian mother2 he their

 sire          ,is doom'd to make a     
,roman holiday4          ,when will ye  
rise1 ye ,goths8 awake and glut your    
ire6'                                   
,,childe ,,harold4  ,the temple of      
,vesta is on the ,tiber4 ,it is not     
unlike an hour-glass--or a toad-stool2  
it is small1 but exceedingly beautiful1 
and has a look of great antiquity4 ,the 
,pantheon is also as fine as possible4  
,it has the most perfect unity of       
effect4 ,it was hardly a proper         
receptacle for the ,gods of the         
,heathens1 for it has a simplicity and  
grandeur like the vaulted cope of       
,heaven4 ,compared with these admired   
remains of former times ,i must say that
 the more modern churches and palaces in
 ,rome are poor1 flashy1 upstart looking
 things4 ,even the dome of ,st4 ,peter's
 is for the most part hid by the front1 
and the ,vatican has no business by its 
side4 ,the sculptures there are also    
indifferent1 and the mosaics1 except    
two--the ,transfiguration and ,st4      

,jerome1 ill chosen4 ,i was lucky enough
 to see the ,pope here on ,easter       
,sunday4 ,he seems a harmless1 infirm1  
fretful old man4 ,i confess ,i should   
feel little ambition to be at the head  
of a procession1 at which the ignorant  
stare1 the better informed smile4 ,i was
 also lucky enough to see ,st4 ,peter's 
illuminated to the very top 7a project  
of ,michael ,angelo's7 in the evening4  
,it was finest at first1 as the kindled 
lights blended with the fading twilight4
 ,it seemed doubtful whether it were an 
artificial illumination1 the work of    
carpenters and torch-bearers1 or the    
reflection of an invisible sun4 ,one    
half of the cross shone with the richest
 gold1 and rows of lamps gave light as  
from a sky4 ,at length a shower of fairy
 lights burst out at a signal in all    
directions1 and covered the whole       
building4 ,it looked better at a        
distance than when we went nearer it4   
,it continued blazing all night4 ,what  
an effect it must have upon the country 

round6 ,now and then a life or so is    
lost in lighting up the huge fabric1 but
 what is this to the glory of the church
 and the salvation of souls1 to which it
 no doubt tends8 ,i can easily conceive 
some of the wild groups that ,i saw in  
the streets the following day to have   
been led by delight and wonder from     
their mountain-haunts1 or even from the 
bandits' cave1 to worship at this new   
starry glory1 rising from the earth4    
,the whole of the immense space before  
,st4 ,peter's was in the afternoon      
crowded with people to see the ,pope    
give his benediction4 ,the rich dresses 
of the country people1 the strong       
features and orderly behaviour of all1  
gave this assemblage a decided          
superiority over any thing of the kind  
,i had seen in ,england4 ,i did not hear
 the ,miserere which is chaunted by the 
,priests1 and sung by a single voice 7,i
 understand like an angel's7 in a dim   
religious light in the ,sistine ,chapel2
 nor did ,i see the exhibition of the   

relics1 at which ,i was told all the    
beauty of ,rome was present4 ,it is     
something even to miss such things4     
,after all1 ,st4 ,peter's does not seem 
to me the chief boast or most imposing  
display of the ,catholic religion4 ,old 
,melrose ,abbey1 battered to pieces and 
in ruins1 as it is1 impresses me much   
more than the collective pride and pomp 
of ,michael ,angelo's great work4       
,popery is here at home1 and may strut  
and swell and deck itself out as it     
pleases1 on the spot and for the        
occasion4 ,it is the pageant of an hour4
 ,but to stretch out its arm fifteen    
hundred miles1 to create a voice in the 
wilderness1 to have left its monuments  
standing by the ,teviot-side1 or to send
 the midnight hymn through the shades of
 ,vallombrosa1 or to make it echo among 
,alpine solitudes1 that is faith1 and   
that is power4 ,the rest is a           
puppet-shew6 ,i am no admirer of        
,pontificals1 but ,i am a slave to the  
picturesque4 ,the ,priests talking      

together in ,st4 ,peter's1 or the common
 people kneeling at the altars1 make    
groups that shame all art4 ,the         
inhabitants of the city have something  
,french about them--something of the    
cook's and the milliner's               
shop--something pert1 gross1 and        
cunning2 but the ,roman peasants redeem 
the credit of their golden sky4 ,the    
young women that come here from ,gensano
 and ,albano1 and that are known by     
their scarlet boddices and white        
head-dresses and handsome good-humoured 
faces1 are the finest specimens ,i have 
ever seen of human nature4 ,they are    
like creatures that have breathed the   
air of ,heaven1 till the sun has ripened
 them into perfect beauty1 health1 and  
goodness4 ,they are universally admired 
in ,rome4 ,the ,english women that you  
see1 though pretty1 are pieces of dough 
to them4 ,little troops and whole       
families1 men1 women1 and children1 from
 the ,campagna and neighbouring         
districts of ,rome1 throng the streets  

during ,easter and ,lent1 who come to   
visit the shrine of some favourite      
,saint1 repeating their ,aves aloud1 and
 telling their beads with all the       
earnestness imaginable4 ,popery is no   
farce to them4 ,they surely think ,st4  
,peter's is the way to ,heaven4 ,you    
even see priests counting their beads1  
and looking grave4 ,if they can contrive
 to get possession of this world for    
themselves1 and give the laity the      
reversion of the next1 were it only in  
imagination1 something is to be said for
 the exchange4 ,i only hate half-way    
houses in religion or politics1 that    
take from us all the benefits of        
ignorance and superstition1 and give us 
none of the advantages of liberty or    
philosophy in return4 ,thus ,i hate     
,princes who usurp the thrones of       
others1 and would almost give them back1
 sooner than allow the rights of the    
people4 ,once more1 how does that       
monument to the ,stuarts happen to be   
stuck up in the side-aisle of ,st4      

,peter's8 ,i would ask the person who   
placed it there1 how many ,georges there
 have been since ,james ,,iii48 ,his    
ancestor makes but an ambiguous figure  
beside the posthumous group--           
#8,so sit two ,kings of ,brentford on   
one throne6'  ,the only thing unpleasant
 in the motley assemblage of persons at 
,rome1 is the number of pilgrims with   
their greasy oil-skin cloaks4 ,they are 
a dirty1 disgusting set1 with a look of 
sturdy hypocrisy about them4 ,the ,pope 
7pro form7 washes their feet2 the ,nuns1
 when they come1 have even a less       
delicate office to perform4 ,religion1  
in the depth of its humility1 ought not 
to forget decorum4 ,but ,i am a         
traveller1 and not a reformer4  ,the    
picture-galleries in ,rome disappointed 
me quite4 ,i was told there were a dozen
 at least1 equal to the ,louvre2 there  
is not one4 ,i shall not dwell long upon
 them1 for they gave me little pleasure4
 ,at the ,ruspigliosi ,palace 7near the 
,monte ,cavallo1 where are the famous   

,colossal groups1 said to be by ,phidias
 and ,praxiteles1 of one of which we    
have a cast in ,hyde ,park7 are the     
,aurora and the ,andromeda1 by ,guido4  
,the first is a most splendid           
composition 7like the ,daughter of the  
,dawn7 but painted in fresco2 and the   
artist has1 in my mind1 failed through  
want of practice in the grace and       
colouring of most of the figures4 ,they 
are a clumsy1 gloomy-looking set1 and   
not like ,guido's females4 ,the         
,andromeda has all the charm and        
sweetness of his pencil1 in its pearly  
tones1 its graceful timid action1 and   
its lovely expression of gentleness and 
terror4 ,the face1 every part of the    
figure1 has a beauty and softness not to
 be described4 ,this one figure is worth
 all the other group1 and the ,apollo1  
the horses and the azure sea to boot4   
,people talk of the insipidity of       
,guido4 ,oh6 let me drink long1         
repeated1 relishing draughts of such    
insipidity6 ,if delicacy1 beauty1 and   

grace are insipidity1 ,i too profess    
myself an idolizer of insipidity3 ,i    
will venture one assertion1 which is1   
that no other painter has expressed the 
female character so well1 so truly1 so  
entirely in its fragile1 lovely essence1
 neither ,raphael1 nor ,titian1 nor     
,correggio2 and1 after these1 it is     
needless to mention any more4 ,raphael's
 women are ,saints2 ,titian's are       
courtesans2 ,correggio's an affected    
mixture of both2 ,guido's are the true  
heroines of romance1 the brides of the  
fancy1 such as #8youthful poets dream of
 when they love1' or as a ,clarissa1 a  
,julia de ,roubigne1 or a ,miss ,milner 
would turn out to be6 ,they are not only
 angels1 but young ladies into the      
bargain1 which is more than can be said 
for any of the others1 and yet it is    
something to say4 ,vandyke sometimes    
gave this effect in portrait1 but his   
historical figures are fanciful and     
sprawling4 ,under the ,andromeda is a   
portrait by ,nicholas ,poussin of       

himself 7a duplicate of that in the     
,louvre71 and an infant ,cupid or       
,bacchus1 by the same artist1 finely    
coloured1 and executed in the manner of 
,titian4 ,there is in another room an   
unmeaning picture1 by ,annibal ,caracci1
 of ,samson pulling down the temple of  
the ,philistines1 and also a fine dead  
,christ by him2 add to these a ,diana   
and ,endymion by ,guercino1 in which the
 real sentiment of the story is thrown  
into the landscape and figures4 ,the    
,ruspigliosi ,pavilion1 containing these
 and some inferior pictures1 is situated
 near the remains of ,constantine's     
,bath in a small raised garden or       
terrace1 in which the early violets and 
hyacinths blossom amidst broken cisterns
 and defaced statues4 ,it is a pretty   
picture2 art decays1 but nature still   
survives through all changes4 ,at the   
,doria ,palace1 there is nothing        
remarkable but the two ,claudes1 and    
these are much injured in colour4 ,the  
trees are black1 and the water looks    

like lead4 ,there are several           
,garofolos1 which are held in esteem    
here 7not unjustly7 and one fine head by
 ,titian4 ,the ,velasquez 7,innocent    
,x471 so much esteemed by ,sir ,joshua1 
is a spirited sketch4 ,the ,borghese    
,palace has three fine pictures1 and    
only three--the ,diana and ,acton of    
,domenichino2 the ,taking down from the 
,cross1 by ,raphael2 and ,titian's      
,sacred and ,profane ,love4 ,this last  
picture has a peculiar and inexpressible
 charm about it4 ,it is something       
between portrait and allegory1 a mixture
 of history and landscape1 simple and   
yet quaint1 fantastical yet without     
meaning to be so1 but as if a sudden    
thought had struck the painter1 and he  
could not help attempting to execute it 
out of curiosity1 and finishing it from 
the delight it gave him4 ,it is full of 
sweetness and solemnity4 ,the ,diana of 
,domenichino is just the reverse of it4 
,every thing here is arranged           
methodically1 and is the effect of study

 and forethought4 ,domenichino was a    
painter of sense1 feeling1 and taste2   
but his pencil was meagre1 and his      
imagination dispirited and impoverished4
 ,in ,titian1 the execution surpassed   
the design1 and the force of his hand   
and eye1 as he went on1 enriched the    
most indifferent outline3 in            
,domenichino1 the filling up fell short 
of the conception and of his own wishes4
 ,he was a man of great modesty and     
merit2 and when others expressed an     
admiration of his talents1 they were    
obliged to reckon up a number of his    
chef-d'uvres to convince him that they  
were in earnest4 ,he could hardly       
believe that any one else thought much  
of his works1 when he thought so little 
of them himself4 ,raphael's ,taking down
 from the ,cross is in his early manner1
 and the outlines of the limbs are like 
the edges of plates of tin2 but it has  
what was inseparable from his           
productions1 first and last1 pregnant   
expression and careful drawing4 ,i ought

 to mention that there is1 by the same  
master-hand1 a splendid portrait of     
,csar ,borgia1 which is an addition to  
my list4 ,the complexion is a strange   
mixture of orange and purple4 ,the hair 
of his sister1 ,lucretia ,borgia 7the   
friend and mistress of ,cardinal ,bembo7
 is still preserved in ,italy1 and a    
lock of it was in the possession of     
,lord ,byron4 ,i lately saw it in       
company with that of ,milton and of     
,bonaparte1 looking calm1 golden1       
beautiful1 a smiling trophy from the    
grave6 ,the number and progressive      
improvement of ,raphael's works in      
,italy is striking4 ,it might teach our 
holiday artists that to do well is to do
 much4 ,excellence springs up behind us1
 not before us2 and is the result of    
what we have done1 not of what we intend
 to do4 ,many artists 7especially those 
abroad1 who are distracted with a       
variety of styles and models7 never     
advance beyond the contemplation of some
 great work1 and think to lay in an     

unexampled store of accomplishments1    
before they commence any undertaking4   
,that is where they ought to end2 to    
begin with it is too much4 ,it is as if 
the foundation-stone should form the    
cupola of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,great works   
are the result of much labour and of    
many failures1 and not of pompous       
pretensions and fastidious delicacy4    
,the ,corsini pictures are another large
 and very indifferent collection4 ,all  
,i can recollect worth mentioning are1 a
 very sweet and silvery-toned ,herodias1
 by ,guido2 a fine landscape1 by ,gaspar
 ,poussin2 an excellent sketch from     
,ariosto of the ,giant ,orgagna2 and the
 ,plague of ,milan by a modern artist1 a
 work of great invention and judgment1  
and in which the details of the subject 
are so managed as to affect1 and not to 
shock4 ,the ,campidoglio collection is  
better4 ,there is a large and admirable 
,guercino1 an airy and richly-coloured  
,guido1 some capital little ,garofolos1 
a beautiful copy of a ,repose of        

,titian's by ,pietro da ,cortona1       
several ,giorgiones1 and a number of    
antique busts of the most interesting   
description4 ,here is the bronze        
,she-,wolf that suckled ,romulus and    
,remus1 and the ,geese that cackled in  
the ,capitol4 ,i find nothing so        
delightful as these old ,roman heads of 
,senators1 ,warriors1 ,philosophers4    
,they have all the freshness of truth   
and nature4 ,they shew something        
substantial in mortality4 ,they are the 
only things that do not crush and       
overturn our sense of personal identity2
 and are a fine relief to the mouldering
 relics of antiquity1 and to the        
momentary littleness of modern things6  
,the little ,farnese contains the       
,galatea and the ,cupid and ,psyche4 ,if
 any thing could have raised my idea of 
,raphael higher1 it would have been some
 of these frescoes4 ,i would mention the
 group of the ,graces in particular2    
they are true ,goddesses4 ,the fine     
flowing outline of the limbs1 the       

variety of attitudes1 the unconscious   
grace1 the charming unaffected glow of  
the expression1 are inimitable4 ,raphael
 never perhaps escaped so completely    
from the trammels of his first manner1  
as in this noble series of designs4 ,the
 ,galatea has been injured in colour by 
the stoves which the ,germans1 who were 
quartered there1 lighted in the         
apartment4 ,in the same room is the     
famous chalk head1 said to have been    
sketched upon the wall by ,michael      
,angelo4 ,the story is probably a       
fabrication2 the head is as coarse and  
mechanical as any thing can be4         
,raphael's ,loggia in the corridors of  
the ,vatican 7the subjects of what is   
called his ,bible7 appear to me divine  
in form1 relief1 conception--above all1 
the figure of ,eve at the forbidden     
tree2 his ,stanzas there appear to me   
divine1 more particularly the           
,heliodorus1 the ,school of ,athens1 and
 the ,miracle of ,bolseno1 with all the 
truth and force of character of         

,titian's portraits 7,i see nothing1    
however1 of his colouring7 and his own  
purity1 sweetness1 and lofty invention1 
added to them4 ,his oil pictures there  
are divine4 ,the ,transfiguration is a  
wonderful collection of fine heads and  
figures3 their fault is1 that they are  
too detached and bare1 but it is not    
true that it embraces two distinct      
points of time4 ,the event below is     
going on in the ,gospel account1 at the 
same time with the miracle of the       
,transfiguration above4 ,but ,i almost  
prefer to this the ,foligno picture3 the
 child with the casket below is of all  
things the most ,raphaelesque1 for the  
sweetness of expression1 and the rich   
pulpy texture of the flesh2 and perhaps 
,i prefer even to this the ,crowning of 
the ,virgin1 with that pure dignified   
figure of the ,madonna sitting in the   
clouds1 and that wonderous emanation of 
sentiment in the crowd below1 near the  
vase of flowers1 all whose faces are    
bathed in one feeling of ecstatic       

devotion1 as the stream of inspiration  
flows over them4 ,there is a singular   
effect of colouring in the lower part of
 this picture1 as if it were painted on 
slate1 and from this cold chilly ground 
the glow of sentiment comes out perhaps 
the more strong and effectual4 ,in the  
same suite of apartments 7accessible to 
students and copyists7 are the ,death of
 ,st4 ,jerome1 by ,domenichino2 and the 
,vision of ,st4 ,romuald1 by ,andrea    
,sacchi1 the last of the ,italian       
painters4 ,five nobler or more          
impressive pictures are not in the      
world4 ,a single figure of ,st4         
,michelle 7as a pilgrim among the ,alps7
 is a pure rich offering of the pencil  
to legendary devotion1 and remarkable   
for the simplicity of the colouring1    
sweetness of the expression1 and the    
gloomy splendour of the background4     
,there are no others equally good4 ,the 
,vatican contains numberless fine       
statues and other remains of antiquity1 
elegant and curious4 ,the ,apollo ,i do 

not admire1 but the ,laocoon appears to 
me admirable1 for the workmanship1 for  
the muscular contortions of the father's
 figure1 and the divine expression of   
the sentiment of pain and terror in the 
children4 ,they are1 however1 rather    
small than young4 ,canova's figures here
 seem to me the work of an accomplished 
sculptor1 but not of a great man4       
,michael ,angelo's figures of ,day and  
,night1 at the ,chapel of ,st4 ,lorenzo 
at ,florence1 are those of a great man2 
whether of a perfect sculptor or not1 ,i
 will not pretend to say4 ,the neck of  
the ,night is curved like the horse's1  
the limbs have the involution of        
serpents4 ,these two figures and his    
transporting the ,pantheon to the top of
 ,st4 ,peter's1 have settled my wavering
 idea of this mighty genius1 which his  
,david and early works at ,florence had 
staggered4 ,his ,adam receiving life    
from his ,creator1 in the ,sistine      
,chapel1 for boldness and freedom1 is   
more like the ,elgin ,theseus than any  

other figure ,i have seen4 ,the         
,jeremiah in the same ceiling droops and
 bows the head like a willow-tree       
surcharged with showers4 ,whether there 
are any faces worthy of these noble     
figures ,i have not been near enough to 
see4 ,those near the bottom of the ,last
 ,judgment are hideous1 vulgar          
caricatures of demons and cardinals1 and
 the whole is a mass of extravagance and
 confusion4 ,i shall endeavour to get a 
nearer view of the ,prophets and ,sybils
 in the ,capella ,sistina4 ,and if ,i   
can discover an expression and character
 of thought in them equal to their      
grandeur of form1 ,i shall not be slow  
to acknowledge it4 ,michael ,angelo is  
one of those names that cannot be shaken
 without pulling down ,fame itself4 ,the
 ,vatican is rich in pictures1 statuary1
 tapestry1 gardens1 and in the views    
from it2 but its immense size is divided
 into too many long and narrow          
compartments1 and it wants the unity of 
effect and imposing gravity of the      

,louvre4                                
,,chapter ,,xx   ,there are two things  
that an ,englishman understands1 hard   
words and hard blows4 ,nothing short of 
this 7generally speaking7 excites his   
attention or interests him in the least4
 ,his neighbours have the benefit of the
 one in war time1 and his own countrymen
 of the other in time of peace4 ,the    
,french express themselves astonished at
 the feats which our ,jack ,tars have so
 often performed4 ,a fellow in that     
class of life in ,england will strike   
his hand through a deal board--first1 to
 shew his strength1 which he is proud   
of2 secondly1 to give him a sensation1  
which he is in want of2 lastly to prove 
his powers of endurance1 which he also  
makes a boast of4 ,so qualified1 a      
controversy with a cannon-ball is not   
much out of his way3 a thirty-two       
pounder is rather an ugly customer1 but 
it presents him with a tangible idea 7a 
thing he is always in search of7--and1  
should it take off his head or carry    

away one of his limbs1 he does not feel 
the want of the one or care for that of 
the other4 ,naturally obtuse1 his       
feelings become hardened by custom2 or  
if there are any qualms of repugnance or
 dismay left1 a volley of oaths1 a few  
coarse jests1 and a double allowance of 
grog soon turn the affair into a        
pastime4 ,stung with wounds1 stunned    
with bruises1 bleeding and mangled1 an  
,english sailor never finds himself so  
much alive as when he is flung half dead
 into the cockpit2 for he then perceives
 the extreme consciousness of his       
existence in his conflict with external 
matter1 in the violence of his will1 and
 his obstinate contempt for suffering4  
,he feels his personal identity on the  
side of the disagreeable and repulsive2 
and it is better to feel it so than to  
be a stock or a stone1 which is his     
ordinary state4 ,pain puts life into    
him2 action1 soul3 otherwise1 he is a   
mere log4 ,the ,english are not like a  
nation of women4 ,they are not          

thin-skinned1 nervous1 or effeminate1   
but dull and morbid3 they look danger   
and difficulty in the face1 and shake   
hands with death as with a brother4     
,they do not hold up their heads1 but   
they will turn their backs on no man3   
they delight in doing and in bearing    
more than others3 what every one else   
shrinks from through aversion to labour 
or pain1 they are attracted to1 and go  
through with1 and so far 7and so far    
only7 they are a great people4 ,at      
least1 it cannot be denied that they are
 a pugnacious set4 ,their heads are so  
full of this1 that if a ,frenchman      
speaks of ,,scribe1 the celebrated      
farce-writer1 a young ,englishman       
present will suppose he means ,cribb the
 boxer2 and ten thousand people         
assembled at a prize-fight will witness 
an exhibition of pugilism with the same 
breathless attention and delight as the 
audience at the ,thatre ,franais listen 
to the dialogue of ,racine or ,molire4  
,assuredly1 we do not pay the same      

attention to ,shakspeare3 but at a      
boxing-match every ,englishman feels his
 power to give and take blows increased 
by sympathy1 as at a ,french theatre    
every spectator fancies that the actors 
on the stage talk1 laugh1 and make love 
as he would4 ,a metaphysician might say1
 that the ,english perceive objects     
chiefly by their mere material qualities
 of solidity1 inertness1 and            
impenetrability1 or by their own        
muscular resistance to them2 that they  
do not care about the colour1 taste1    
smell1 the sense of luxury or           
pleasure3--they require the heavy1 hard1
 and tangible only1 something for them  
to grapple with and resist1 to try their
 strength and their unimpressibility    
upon4 ,they do not like to smell to a   
rose1 or to taste of made-dishes1 or to 
listen to soft music1 or to look at fine
 pictures1 or to make or hear fine      
speeches1 or to enjoy themselves or     
amuse others2 but they will knock any   
man down who tells them so1 and their   

sole delight is to be as uncomfortable  
and disagreeable as possible4 ,to them  
the greatest labour is to be pleased3   
they hate to have nothing to find fault 
with3 to expect them to smile or to     
converse on equal terms1 is the heaviest
 tax you can levy on their want of      
animal spirits or intellectual          
resources4 ,a drop of pleasure is the   
most difficult thing to extract from    
their hard1 dry1 mechanical1 husky      
frame2 a civil word or look is the last 
thing they can part with4 ,hence the    
matter-of-factness of their             
understandings1 their tenaciousness of  
reason or prejudice1 their slowness to  
distinguish1 their backwardness to      
yield1 their mechanical improvements1   
their industry1 their courage1 their    
blunt honesty1 their dislike to the     
frivolous and florid1 their love of     
liberty out of hatred to oppression1 and
 their love of virtue from their        
antipathy to vice4 ,hence also their    
philosophy1 from their distrust of      

appearances and unwillingness to be     
imposed upon2 and even their poetry has 
its probable source in the same         
repining1 discontented humour1 which    
flings them from cross-grained realities
 into the region of lofty and eager     
imaginations4#dd--;,a ,french gentleman1
 a man of sense and wit1 expressed his  
wonder that all the ,english did not go 
and live in the ,south of ,france1 where
 they would have a beautiful country1 a 
fine climate1 and every comfort almost  
for nothing4 ,he did not perceive that  
they would go back in shoals from this  
scene of fancied contentment to their   
fogs and sea-coal fires1 and that no    
,englishman can live without something  
to complain of4 ,some persons are sorry 
to see our countrymen abroad cheated1   
laughed at1 quarrelling at all the inns 
they stop at3--while they are in        
hot-water1 while they think themselves  
ill-used and have but the spirit to     
resent it1 they are happy4 ,as long as  
they can swear1 they are excused from   

being complimentary3 if they have to    
fight1 they need not think3 while they  
are provoked beyond measure1 they are   
released from the dreadful obligation of
 being pleased4 ,leave them to          
themselves1 and they are dull3 introduce
 them into company1 and they are worse4 
,it is the incapacity of enjoyment that 
makes them sullen and ridiculous2 the   
mortification they feel at not having   
their own way in everything1 and at     
seeing others delighted without asking  
their leave1 that makes them haughty and
 distant4 ,an ,englishman is silent     
abroad from having nothing to say2 and  
he looks stupid1 because he is so4 ,it  
is kind words and graceful acts that    
afflict his soul--an appearance of      
happiness1 which he suspects to be      
insincere because he cannot enter into  
it1 and a flow of animal spirits which  
dejects him the more from making him    
feel the want of it in himself2 pictures
 that he does not understand1 music that
 he does not feel1 love that he cannot  

make1 suns that shine out of ,england1  
and smiles more radiant than they6 ,do  
not stifle him with roses3 do not kill  
him with kindness3 leave him some       
pretext to grumble1 to fret1 and torment
 himself4 ,point at him as he drives an 
,english mail-coach about the streets of
 ,paris or of ,rome1 to relieve his     
despair of clat by affording him a      
pretence to horsewhip some one4 ,be     
disagreeable1 surly1 lying1 knavish1    
impertinent out of compassion2 insult1  
rob him1 and he will thank you2 take any
 thing from him 7nay even his life7     
sooner than his opinion of himself and  
his prejudices against others1 his moody
 dissatisfaction and his contempt for   
every one who is not in as ill a humour 
as he is4  ,john ,bull is certainly a   
singular animal4 ,it is the being the   
beast he is that has made a man of him4 
,if he do not take care what he is      
about1 the same ungoverned humour will  
be his ruin4 ,he must have something to 
butt at2 and it matters little to him   

whether it be friend or foe1 provided   
only he can run-a-muck4 ,he must have a 
grievance to solace him1 a bugbear of   
some sort or other to keep himself in   
breath3 otherwise1 he droops and hangs  
the head--he is no longer ,john ,bull1  
but ,john ,ox1 according to a happy     
allusion of the ,poet-,laureate's4 ,this
 necessity of ,john's to be repulsive   
7right or wrong7 has been lately turned 
against himself1 to the detriment of    
others1 and his proper cost4 ,formerly1 
the ,pope1 the ,devil1 the ,inquisition1
 and the ,bourbons1 served the turn1    
with all of whom he is at present sworn 
friends1 unless ,mr4 ,canning should    
throw out a tub to a whale in ,south    
,america3 then ,bonaparte took the lead 
for awhile in ,john's panic-struck      
brain2 and latterly1 the ,whigs and the 
,examiner newspaper have borne the bell 
before all other topics of abuse and    
obloquy4 ,formerly1 liberty was the word
 with ,john1--now it has become a       
bye-word4 ,whoever is not determined to 

make a slave and a drudge of him1 he    
defies1 he sets at1 he tosses in the    
air1 he tramples under foot2 and after  
having mangled and crushed whom he      
pleases1 stands stupid and melancholy   
7fnum in cornu7 over the lifeless       
remains of his victim4 ,when his fury is
 over1 he repents of what he has        
done--too late4 ,in his tame fit1 and   
having made a clear stage of all who    
would or could direct him right1 he is  
led gently by the nose by ,mr4 ,croker2 
and the #8,stout ,gentleman' gets upon  
his back1 making a monster of him4 ,why 
is there a tablet stuck up in ,st4      
,peter's at ,rome1 to the memory of the 
three last of the ,stuarts8 ,is it a    
baiss mains to the ,pope1 or a          
compromise with legitimacy8 ,is the     
dread of usurpation become so strong1   
that a reigning family are half-ready to
 acknowledge themselves usurpers1 in    
favour of those who are not likely to   
come back to assert their claim1 and to 
countenance the principles that may keep

 them on a throne1 in lieu of the       
paradoxes that placed them there8 ,it is
 a handsome way of paying for a kingdom 
with an epitaph1 and of satisfying the  
pretensions of the living and the dead4 
,but we did not expel the slavish and   
tyrannical ,stuarts from our soil by the
 volcanic eruption of #afhh1 to send a  
whining ,jesuitical recantation and writ
 of error after them to the other world 
a hundred years afterwards4 ,but it may 
be said that the inscription is merely a
 tribute of respect to misfortune4      
,what6 from that quarter8 ,no6 it is a  
#8lily-livered1' polished1 courtly1     
pious monument to the fears that have so
 long beset the hearts of ,monarchs1 to 
the pale apparitions of ,kings dethroned
 or beheaded in time past or to come    
7from that sad example7 to the crimson  
flush of victory1 which has put out the 
light of truth1 and to the reviving hope
 of that deathless night of ignorance   
and superstition1 when they shall once  
more reign as ,gods upon the earth1 and 

make of their enemies their footstool6  
,foreigners cannot comprehend this      
bear-garden work of ours at all3 they   
#8perceive a fury1 but nothing          
wherefore4' ,they cannot reconcile the  
violence of our wills with the dulness  
of our apprehensions1 nor account for   
the fuss we make about nothing2 our     
convulsions and throes without end or   
object1 the pains we take to defeat     
ourselves and others1 and to undo all   
that we have ever done1 sooner than any 
one else should share the benefit of it4
 ,they think it is strange1 that out of 
mere perversity and contradiction we    
would rather be slaves ourselves1 than  
suffer others to be free2 that we back  
out of our most heroic acts and disavow 
our favourite maxims 7the blood-stained 
devices in our national coat of arms7   
the moment we find others disposed to   
assent to or imitate us1 and that we    
would willingly see the last hope of    
liberty and independence extinguished1  
sooner than give the smallest credit to 

those who sacrifice every thing to keep 
the spark alive1 or abstain from joining
 in every species of scurrility1 insult1
 and calumny against them1 if the word  
is once given by the whippers-in of     
power4 ,the ,english imagination is not 
riante3 it inclines to the gloomy and   
morbid with a heavy instinctive bias1   
and when fear and interest are thrown   
into the scale1 down it goes with a     
vengeance that is not to be resisted1   
and from the effects of which it is not 
easy to recover4 ,the enemies of        
,english liberty are aware of this      
weakness in the public mind1 and make a 
notable use of it4               #8,but 
that two-handed engine at the door      
,stands ready to smite once and smite no
 more4'  ,give a dog an ill name1 and   
hang him--so says the proverb4 ,the     
courtiers say1 #8,give a patriot an ill 
name1 and ruin him' alike with ,whig and
 ,tory--with the last1 because he hates 
you as a friend to freedom2 with the    
first1 because he is afraid of being    

implicated in the same obloquy with you4
 ,this is the reason why the ,magdalen  
,muse of ,mr4 ,thomas ,moore finds a    
taint in the ,liberal2 why ,mr4         
,hobhouse visits ,pisa1 to dissuade     
,lord ,byron from connecting himself    
with any but gentlemen-born1 for the    
credit of the popular cause4 ,set about 
a false report or insinuation1 and the  
effect is instantaneous and universally 
felt--prove that there is nothing in it1
 and you are just where you were4       
,something wrong somewhere1 in reality  
or imagination1 in public or in private1
 is necessary to the minds of the       
,english people3 bring a charge against 
any one1 and they hug you to their      
breasts3 attempt to take it from them1  
and they resist it as they would an     
attack upon their persons or property3 a
 nickname is to their moody1 splenetic  
humour a freehold estate1 from which    
they will not be ejected by fair means  
or foul3 they conceive they have a      
vested right in calumny4 ,no matter how 

base the lie1 how senseless the jest1 it
 tells--because the public appetite     
greedily swallows whatever is nauseous  
and disgusting1 and refuses1 through    
weakness or obstinacy1 to disgorge it   
again4 ,therefore ,mr4 ,croker plies his
 dirty task--and is a ,privy-councillor2
 ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook calls ,mr4        
,waithman #8,lord ,waithman' once a     
week1 and passes for a wit6  ,i had the 
good fortune to meet the other day at   
,paris with my old fellow-student ,dr4  
,e----1 after a lapse of thirty years2  
he is older than ,i by a year or two1   
and makes it five-and-twenty4 ,he had   
not been idle since we parted4 ,he      
sometimes looked in1 after having paid  
,la ,place a visit2 and ,i told him it  
was almost as if he had called on a star
 in his way4 ,it is wonderful how       
friendship1 that has long lain unused1  
accumulates like money at compound      
interest4 ,we had to settle a long      
account1 and to compare old times and   
new4 ,he was naturally anxious to learn 

the state of our politics and           
literature1 and was not a little        
mortified to hear that ,england1 #8whose
 boast it was to give out reformation to
 the world1' had changed her motto1 and 
was now bent on propping up the         
continental despotisms1 and on lashing  
herself to them4 ,he was particularly   
mortified at the degraded state of our  
public press--at the systematic         
organization of a corps of              
government-critics to decry every       
liberal sentiment1 and proscribe every  
liberal writer as an enemy to the person
 of the reigning sovereign1 only because
 he did not avow the principles of the  
,stuarts4 ,i had some difficulty in     
making him understand the full lengths  
of the malice1 the lying1 the hypocrisy1
 the sleek adulation1 the meanness1     
equivocation1 and skulking concealment1 
of a ,quarterly ,reviewer1#de  the      
reckless blackguardism of ,mr4          
,blackwood1 and the obtuse drivelling   
profligacy of the ,john ,bull4 ,he said1

 #8,it is worse with you than with us3  
here an author is obliged to sacrifice  
twenty mornings and twenty pair of black
 silk-stockings1 in paying his court to 
the ,editors of different journals1 to  
ensure a hearing from the public2 but   
with you1 it seems1 he must give up his 
understanding and his character1 to     
establish a claim to taste or learning4'
 ,he asked if the scandal could not be  
disproved1 and retorted on the heads of 
the aggressors3 but ,i said that these  
were persons of no character1 or        
studiously screened by their employers2 
and besides1 the ,english imagination   
was a bird of heavy wing1 that1 if once 
dragged through the kennel of           
,billingsgate abuse1 could not well     
raise itself out of it again4 ,he could 
hardly believe that under the ,hanover  
dynasty 7a dynasty founded to secure us 
against tyranny7 a theatrical licenser  
had struck the word #8tyrant' out of    
,mr4 ,shee's tragedy1 as offensive to   
ears polite1 or as if from this time    

forward there could be supposed to be no
 such thing in rerum natur2 and that the
 common ejaculation1 #8,good ,god6' was 
erased from the same piece1 as in a     
strain of too great levity in this age  
of cant4 ,i told him that public opinion
 in ,england was at present governed by 
half a dozen miscreants1 who undertook  
to bait1 hoot1 and worry every man out  
of his country1 or into an obscure      
grave1 with lies and nicknames1 who was 
not prepared to take the political      
sacrament of the day1 and use his best  
endeavours 7he and his friends7 to      
banish the last traces of freedom1      
truth1 and honesty from the land4 #8,to 
be direct and honest is not safe4' ,to  
be a ,reformer1 the friend of a         
,reformer1 or the friend's friend of a  
,reformer1 is as much as a man's peace1 
reputation1 or even life is worth4      
,answer1 if it is not so1 pale shade of 
,keats1 or living mummy of ,william     
,gifford6 ,dr4 ,e---- was unwilling to  
credit this statement1 but the proofs   

were too flagrant4 ,he asked me what    
became of that band of patriots that    
swarmed in our younger days1 that were  
so glowing-hot1 desperate1 and noisy in 
the year #agid8 ,i said ,i could not    
tell2 but referred him to our present   
,poet-,laureate for an account of them6 
----#8,can these things be1             
,and overcome us like a summer-cloud1   
,without a special wonder8'  ,i suspect 
it is peculiar to the ,english not to   
answer the letters of their friends     
abroad4 ,they know you are anxious to   
hear1 and have a surly1 sullen pleasure 
in disappointing you4 ,to oblige is a   
thing abhorrent to their imaginations2  
to be uneasy at not hearing from home   
just when one wishes1 is a weakness     
which they cannot encourage4 ,any thing 
like a responsibility attached to their 
writing is a kind of restraint upon     
their free-will1 an interference with   
their independence4 ,there is a sense of
 superiority in not letting you know    
what you wish to know1 and in keeping   

you in a state of helpless suspense4    
,besides1 they think you are angry at   
their not writing1 and would make them  
if you could2 and they show their       
resentment of your impatience and       
ingratitude by continuing not to        
write4--,one thing truly edifying in the
 accounts from ,england1 is the number  
of murders and robberies with which the 
newspapers abound4 ,one would suppose   
that the repetition of the details1 week
 after week1 and day after day1 might   
stagger us a little as to our           
superlative idea of the goodness1       
honesty1 and industry of the ,english   
people4 ,no such thing3 whereas one     
similar fact occurring once a year      
abroad fills us with astonishment1 and  
makes us ready to dub the ,italians     
7without any further inquiry7 a nation  
of assassins and banditti4 ,it is not   
safe to live or travel among them4 ,is  
it not strange1 that we should persist  
in drawing such wilful conclusions from 
such groundless premises8 ,a murder or a

 street-robbery in ,london is a matter  
of course#df3 accumulate a score of     
these under the most aggravated         
circumstances one upon the back of the  
other1 in town and country1 in the      
course of a few weeks--they all go for  
nothing2 they make nothing against the  
,english character in the abstract2 the 
force of prejudice is stronger than the 
weight of evidence4 ,the process of the 
mind is this2 and absurd as it appears1 
is natural enough4 ,we say 7to          
ourselves7 we are ,english1 we are good 
people1 and therefore the ,english are  
good people4 ,we carry a proxy in our   
bosoms for the national character in    
general4 ,our own motives are #8very    
stuff o' the conscience1' and not like  
those of barbarous foreigners4 ,besides1
 we know many excellent ,english people1
 and the mass of the population cannot  
be affected in the scale of morality by 
the outrages of a few ruffians1 which   
instantly meet with the reward they     
merit from wholesome and excellent laws4

 ,we are not to be moved from this      
position1 that the great body of the    
,british public do not live by thieving 
and cutting the throats of their        
neighbours1 whatever the accounts in the
 newspapers might lead us to suspect4   
,the streets are lined with bakers'1    
butchers'1 and haberdashers' shops1     
instead of night-cellars and            
gaming-houses2 and are crowded with     
decent1 orderly1 well-dressed people1   
instead of being rendered impassable by 
gangs of swindlers and pickpockets4 ,the
 exception does not make the rule4      
,nothing can be more clear or proper2   
and yet if a single ,italian commit a   
murder or a robbery1 we immediately form
 an abstraction of this individual case1
 and because we are ignorant of the real
 character of the people or state of    
manners in a million of instances1 take 
upon us1 like true ,englishmen1 to fill 
up the blank1 which is left at the mercy
 of our horror-struck imaginations1 with
 bugbears and monsters of every         

description4 ,we should extend to others
 the toleration and the suspense of     
judgment we claim2 and ,i am sure we    
stand in need of it from those who read 
the important head of #8,,accidents     
,,and ,,offences' in our ,journals4 ,it 
is true an ,italian baker1 some time    
ago1 shut his wife up in an oven1 where 
she was burnt to death2 the heir of a   
noble family stabbed an old woman to rob
 her of her money2 a lady of quality had
 her step-daughter chained to a bed of  
straw1 and fed on bread and water till  
she lost her senses4 ,this translated   
into vulgar ,english means that all the 
bakers' wives in ,italy are burnt by    
their husbands at a slow fire2 that all 
the young nobility are common bravoes2  
that all the step-mothers exercise      
unheard-of and unrelenting cruelty on   
the children of a former marriage4 ,we  
only want a striking frontispiece to    
make out a tragic volume4 ,as the       
traveller advances into the country1    
robbers and rumours of robbers fly      

before him with the horizon4 ,in ,italy1
                 #8,man seldom is--but  
always to be robbed4'  ,at ,turin1 they 
told me it was not wise to travel by a  
vetturino to ,florence without arms4 ,at
 ,florence1 ,i was told one could not   
walk out to look at an old ruin in      
,rome1 without expecting to see a       
,lazzaroni start from behind some part  
of it with a pistol in his hand4        
#8,there's no such thing2' but hatred   
has its phantoms as well as fear2 and   
the ,english traduce and indulge their  
prejudices against other nations in     
order to have a pretence for maltreating
 them4 ,this moral delicacy plays an    
under-game to their political           
profligacy4 ,i am at present kept from  
proceeding forward to ,naples by        
imaginary bands of brigands that infest 
the road the whole way4 ,the fact is1   
that a gang of banditti1 who had        
committed a number of atrocities and who
 had their haunts in the mountains near 
,sonino1 were taken up about three years

 ago1 to the amount of two and thirty3  
four of them were executed at ,rome1 and
 their wives still get their living in  
this city by sitting as models to       
artists1 on account of the handsomeness 
of their features and the richness of   
their dresses4 ,as to courtesans1 from  
which one cannot separate the name of   
,italy even in idea1 ,i have seen but   
one person answering to this description
 since ,i came1 and ,i do not even know 
that this was one4 ,but ,i saw a girl in
 white 7an unusual thing7 standing at   
some distance at the corner of one of   
the bye-streets in ,rome2 after looking 
round her for a moment1 she ran hastily 
up the street again1 as if in fear of   
being discovered1 and a countryman who  
was passing with a cart at the time1    
stopped to look and hiss after her4 ,if 
the draymen in ,london were to stop to  
gape and hoot at all the girls they see 
standing at the corners of streets in a 
doubtful capacity1 they would have      
enough to do4 ,but the tide of public   

prostitution that pours down all our    
streets is considered by some moralists 
as a drain to carry off the peccant     
humours of private life1 and to keep the
 inmost recesses of the female breast   
sweet and pure from blemish6 ,if this is
 to be the test1 we have indeed nearly  
arrived at the idea of a perfect        
commonwealth4  ,cicisbeism is still kept
 up in ,italy1 though somewhat on the   
decline4 ,i have nothing to say in      
favour of that anomaly in vice and      
virtue4 ,the ,english women are         
particularly shocked at it1 who are     
allowed to hate their husbands1 provided
 they do not like any body else4 ,it is 
a kind of marriage within a marriage2 it
 begins with infidelity to end in       
constancy2 it is not a state of licensed
 dissipation1 but is a real chain of the
 affections1 superadded to the first    
formal one1 and that often lasts for    
life4 ,a gay captain in the ,pope's     
,guard is selected by a lady as her     
cavalier servente in the prime of life1 

and is seen digging in the garden of the
 family in a grey jacket and white hairs
 thirty years after4 ,this does not look
 like a love of change4 ,the husband is 
of course always a fixture2 not so the  
cavalier servente1 who is liable to be  
removed for a new favourite4 ,in noble  
families the lover must be noble2 and he
 must be approved by the husband4 ,a    
young officer1 who the other day        
volunteered this service to a beautiful 
,marchioness without either of these    
titles1 and was a sort of interloper on 
the intended gallant1 was sent to       
,volterra4 ,whatever is the height to   
which this system has been carried1 or  
the level to which it has sunk1 it does 
not appear to have extinguished jealousy
 in all its excess as a part of the     
national character1 as the following    
story will shew3 it is related by ,m4   
,beyle1 in his charming little work1    
entitled ,de l',amour1 as a companion to
 the famous one in ,dante2 and ,i shall 
give the whole passage in his words1 as 

placing the ,italian character 7in      
former as well as latter times7 in a    
striking point of view4  #8,i allude1'  
he says1 #8to those touching lines of   
,dante2--        #8,deh6 quando tu sarai
 tornato al mondo1       ,ricordati di  
me1 che son la ,pia2       ,sienna mi f3
 disfecemi ,maremma3       ,salsi colui1
 che inannellata pria1                  
,disposando1 m'avea con la sua          
gemma4'--,purgatorio1 c4 #e4  #8,the    
woman who speaks with so much reserve1  
had in secret undergone the fate of     
,desdemona1 and had it in her power1 by 
a single word1 to have revealed her     
husband's crime to the friends whom she 
had left upon earth4  #8,nello della    
,pietra obtained in marriage the hand of
 ,madonna ,pia1 sole heiress of the     
,ptolomei1 the richest and most noble   
family of ,sienna4 ,her beauty1 which   
was the admiration of all ,tuscany1 gave
 rise to a jealousy in the breast of her
 husband1 that1 envenomed by false      
reports and by suspicions continually   

reviving1 led to a frightful            
catastrophe4 ,it is not easy to         
determine at this day if his wife was   
altogether innocent2 but ,dante has     
represented her as such4 ,her husband   
carried her with him into the marshes of
 ,volterra1 celebrated then1 as now1 for
 the pestiferous effects of the air4    
,never would he tell his unhappy wife   
the reason of her banishment into so    
dangerous a place4 ,his pride did not   
deign to pronounce either complaint or  
accusation4 ,he lived with her alone1 in
 a deserted tower1 of which ,i have been
 to see the ruins on the sea-shore2 here
 he never broke his disdainful silence1 
never replied to the questions of his   
youthful bride1 never listened to her   
entreaties4 ,he waited unmoved by her   
for the air to produce its fatal        
effects4 ,the vapours of this           
unwholesome swamp were not long in      
tarnishing features the most beautiful1 
they say1 that in that age had appeared 
upon earth4 ,in a few months she died4  

,some chroniclers of these remote times 
report1 that ,nello employed the dagger 
to hasten her end3 she died in the      
marshes in some horrible manner2 but the
 mode of her death remained a mystery1  
even to her contemporaries4 ,nello della
 ,pietra survived to pass the rest of   
his days in a silence which was never   
broken4  #8,nothing can be conceived    
more noble or more delicate than the    
manner in which the ill-fated ,pia      
addresses herself to ,dante4 ,she       
desires to be recalled to the memory of 
the friends whom she had quitted so     
young3 at the same time1 in telling her 
name and alluding to her husband1 she   
does not allow herself the smallest     
complaint against a cruelty unexampled1 
but thenceforth irreparable2 and merely 
intimates that he knows the history of  
her death4 ,this constancy in vengeance 
and in suffering is to be met with1 ,i  
believe1 only among the people of the   
,south4 ,in ,piedmont1 ,i found myself  
the involuntary witness of a fact almost

 similar2 but ,i was at the time        
ignorant of the details4 ,i was ordered 
with five-and-twenty dragoons into the  
woods that border the ,sesia1 to prevent
 the contraband traffic4 ,on my arrival 
in the evening at this wild and solitary
 place1 ,i distinguished among the trees
 the ruins of an old castle3 ,i went to 
it3 to my great surprise1 it was        
inhabited4 ,i there found a ,nobleman of
 the country1 of a very unpromising     
aspect2 a man six feet in height1 and   
forty years of age3 he allowed me a     
couple of apartments with a very ill    
grace4 ,here ,i entertained myself by   
getting up some pieces of music with my 
quarter-master3 after the expiration of 
some days1 we discovered that our host  
kept guard over a woman whom we called  
,camilla in jest3 we were far from      
suspecting the dreadful truth4 ,she died
 at the end of six weeks4 ,i had the    
melancholy curiosity to see her in her  
coffin2 ,i bribed a monk who had charge 
of it1 and towards midnight1 under      

pretext of sprinkling the holy water1 he
 conducted me into the chapel4 ,i there 
saw one of those fine faces1 which are  
beautiful even in the bosom of death3   
she had a large aquiline nose1 of which 
,i never shall forget the noble and     
expressive outline4 ,i quitted this     
mournful spot2 but five years after1 a  
detachment of my regiment accompanying  
the ,emperor to his coronation as ,king 
of ,italy1 ,i had the whole story       
recounted to me4 ,i learned that the    
jealous husband1 the ,count of ----1 had
 one morning found1 hanging to his      
wife's bedside1 an ,english watch       
belonging to a young man in the little  
town where they lived4 ,the same day he 
took her to the ruined castle1 in the   
midst of the forests of the ,sesia4     
,like ,nello della ,pietra1 he uttered  
not a single word4 ,if she made him any 
request1 he presented to her sternly and
 in silence the ,english watch1 which he
 had always about him4 ,in this manner  
he passed nearly three years with her4  

,she at length fell a victim to despair1
 in the flower of her age4 ,her husband 
attempted to dispatch the owner of the  
watch with a stiletto1 failed1 fled to  
,genoa1 embarked there1 and no tidings  
have been heard of him since4 ,his      
property was confiscated4'--,de         
l',amour1 vol i4 p4 #aca4  ,this story  
is interesting and well told4 ,one such 
incident1 or one page in ,dante or in   
,spenser is worth all the route between 
this and ,paris1 and all the sights in  
all the post-roads in ,europe4 ,oh      
,sienna6 if ,i felt charmed with thy    
narrow1 tenantless streets1 or looked   
delighted through thy arched gateway    
over the subjected plain1 it was that   
some recollections of ,madonna ,pia hung
 upon the beatings of my spirit1 and    
converted a barren waste into the       
regions of romance6                     
,,chapter ,,xxi   ,we had some thoughts 
of taking a lodging at ,l',ariccia1 at  
the ,caff del ,piazza1 for a month1 but 
the deep sandy roads1 the centinels     

posted every half-mile on this1 which is
 the route for ,naples 7which shewed    
that it was not very safe to leave      
them71 the loose1 straggling woods      
sloping down to the dreary marshes1 and 
the story of ,hippolitus painted on the 
walls of the inn 7who1 it seems1 was    
#8native to the manner here'71 deterred 
us4 ,l',ariccia1 besides being1 after   
,cortona1 the oldest place in ,italy1 is
 also one step towards ,naples1 which ,i
 had a strong desire to see--its        
brimming shores1 its sky which glows    
like one entire sun1 ,vesuvius1 the     
mouth of ,hell1 and ,sorrentum1 like the
 ,islands of the ,blest--yet here again 
the reports of robbers1 exaggerated     
alike by foreigners and natives1 who    
wish to keep you where you are1 the     
accounts of hogs without hair1 and      
children without clothes to their backs1
 the vermin 7animal as well as human71  
the gilded hams and legs of mutton that 
,forsyth speaks of1 gave me a distaste  
to the journey1 and ,i turned back to   

put an end to the question4 ,i am fond  
of the sun1 though ,i do not like to see
 him and the assassin's knife glaring   
over my head together4 ,as to the real  
amount of the danger of travelling this 
road1 as far as ,i can learn1 it is     
this--there is at present a possibility 
but no probability of your being robbed 
or kidnapped1 if you go in the day-time 
and by the common method of a           
,vetturino1 stopping two nights on the  
road4 ,if you go alone1 and with a      
determination to set time1 place1 and   
circumstances at defiance1 like a       
personified representation of ,john     
,bull1 maintaining the character of your
 countrymen for sturdiness and          
independence of spirit1 you stand a very
 good chance of being shot through the  
head3 the same thing might happen to    
you1 if you refused your money to an    
,english footpad2 but if you give it    
freely1 like a gentleman1 and do not    
stand too nicely upon a punctilio1 they 
let you pass like one4 ,if you have no  

money about you1 you must up into the   
mountain1 and wait till you can get it4 
,for myself1 my remittances have not    
been very regular even in walled towns2 
how ,i should fare in this respect upon 
the forked mountain1 ,i cannot tell1 and
 certainly ,i have no wish to try4 ,a   
friend of mine said that he thought it  
the only romantic thing going1 this of  
being carried off by the banditti2 that 
life was become too tame and insipid    
without such accidents1 and that it     
would not be amiss to put one's-self in 
the way of such an adventure1 like      
putting in for the grand prize in the   
lottery4 ,assuredly1 one is not likely  
to go to sleep in such circumstances3   
one person who was detained in this     
manner1 and threatened every hour with  
being despatched1 went mad in           
consequence4 ,a ,french ,artist was laid
 hold of by a gang of the outlaws1 as he
 was sketching in the neighbourhood of  
their haunts1 about a year ago2 he did  
not think their mode of life at all     

agreeable4 ,as he had no money1 they    
employed him in making sketches of their
 heads1 with which they were exceedingly
 delighted4 ,their vanity kept him      
continually on the alert when they had a
 moment's leisure2 and1 besides1 he was 
fatigued almost to death1 for they made 
long marches of from forty to fifty     
miles a day1 and scarcely ever rested   
more than one night in the same place4  
,they travelled through bye-roads 7in   
constant apprehension of the military7  
in parties of five or six1 and met at   
some common rendezvous at night-fall4   
,he was in no danger from them in the   
day-time2 but at night they sat up      
drinking and carousing1 and when they   
were in this state of excitement1 he was
 in considerable jeopardy from their    
violence or sportive freaks3 they amused
 themselves with presenting their loaded
 pieces at his breast1 or threatened to 
dispatch him if he did not promise to   
procure ransom4 ,at last he effected his
 escape in one of their drunken bouts4  

,their seizure of the ,austrian officer 
last year was singular enough3 they     
crept for above a mile on their hands   
and knees1 from the foot of the mountain
 which was their place of retreat1 and  
carried off their prize in the same     
manner1 so as to escape the notice of   
the sentinels who were stationed at     
short distances on the road side4 ,some 
years since a plan was laid to carry off
 ,lucien ,buonaparte from his villa at  
,frascati1 about eleven miles from      
,rome1 on the ,albano side1 where the   
same range of ,apennines begins3 he was 
walking in his garden and saw them      
approaching through some trees1 for his 
glance is quick and furtive2 he retired 
into the house1 his valet came out to   
meet them1 who passed himself off for   
his master1 they were delighted with    
their sham-prize1 and glad to take      
#d1jjj crowns to release him4 ,since    
then ,lucien ,buonaparte has lived in   
,rome4 ,i remember once meeting this    
celebrated character in the streets of  

,paris1 walking arm in arm with ,maria  
,cosway1 with whom ,i had drunk tea the 
evening before4 ,he was dressed in a    
light drab-coloured great-coat1 and was 
then a spirited1 dashing-looking young  
man4 ,i believe ,i am the only person in
 ,england who ever read his             
,,charlemagne4 ,it is as clever a poem  
as can be written by a man who is not a 
poet4 ,it came out in two volumes       
quarto1 and several individuals were    
applied to by the publishers to         
translate it2 among others ,sir ,walter 
,scott1 who gave for answer1 #8that as  
to ,mister ,buonaparte's poem1 he should
 have nothing to do with it4' ,such was 
the petty spite of this understrapper of
 greatness and of titles1 himself since 
titled1 the scale of whose intellect can
 be equalled by nothing but the         
pitifulness and rancour of his          
prejudices6 ,the last account ,i have   
heard of the exploits of ,neapolitan    
banditti is1 that they had seized upon  
two out of three ,englishmen1 who had   

determined upon passing through         
,calabria on their way to ,sicily1 and  
were proceeding beyond ,pstum for this  
purpose4 ,they were told by the         
,commandant there1 that this was running
 into the lion's mouth1 that there were 
no patrols to protect them farther1 and 
that they were sure to be intercepted2  
but an ,englishman's will is his        
law--they went forward--and succeeded in
 getting themselves into the only       
remaining romantic situation4 ,i have   
not heard whether they have yet got out 
of it4 ,the national propensity to      
contend with difficulty and to resist   
obstacles is curious1 perhaps           
praiseworthy4 ,a young ,englishman      
returned the other day to ,italy with a 
horse that he had brought with him for  
more than two thousand miles on the     
other side of ,grand ,cairo2 and poor   
,bowdich gave up the ghost in a second  
attempt to penetrate to the source of   
the ,niger1 the encouragement to        
persevere being in proportion to the    

impossibility of success6 ,i am myself  
somewhat effeminate1 and would rather   
#8the primrose path of dalliance tread2'
 or the height of my ambition in this   
line would be to track the ancient route
 up the valley of the ,simplon1 leaving 
the modern road 7much as ,i admire the  
work and the workman71 and clambering up
 the ledges of rocks1 and over broken   
bridges1 at the risk of a sprained ankle
 or a broken limb1 to return to a late1 
but excellent dinner at the post-house  
at ,brigg6  ,what increases the alarm of
 robbers in the ,south of ,italy1 is the
 reviving of old stories1 like the      
multiplication of echoes1 and shifting  
their dates indefinitely1 so as to      
excite the fears of the listener1 or    
answer the purposes of the speaker4     
,about three years ago1 a desperate gang
 of ruffians infested the passes of the 
,abruzzi1 and committed a number of     
atrocities2 but this gang1 to the amount
 of about thirty1 were seized and broken
 up1 their ringleaders beheaded in the  

,square di ,popolo at ,rome1 and their  
wives or mistresses now live there by   
sitting for their pictures to ,english  
artists4 ,the remainder figure as       
convicts in striped yellow and brown    
dresses in the streets of ,rome1 and    
very civilly pull off their hats to     
strangers as they pass4 ,by the way1 ,i 
cannot help reprobating this practice of
 employing felons as common labourers in
 places of public resort4 ,either you   
must be supposed to keep up your        
feelings of dislike and indignation     
against them while thus mixing with the 
throng and innocently employed1 which is
 a disagreeable and forced operation of 
the sense of justice2 or if you retain  
no such feelings towards these victims  
of the law1 then why do they retain the 
chains on their feet and ugly badges on 
their shoulders8 ,if the thing is to be 
treated seriously1 it is painful3 if    
lightly and good-humouredly1 it turns   
the whole affair into a farce or drama1 
with as little of the useful as the     

pleasant in it4 ,i know nothing of these
 people that ,i see manacled and        
branded1 but that they are labouring in 
a broiling sun for my convenience2 if   
one of them were to break loose1 ,i     
should not care to stop him4 ,when we   
witness the punishments of individuals1 
we should know their crimes2 or at least
 their punishment and their delinquency 
should not be mixed up indiscriminately 
with the ordinary gaieties and business 
of human life4 ,it is a chapter of the  
volume that should be read apart6 ,about
 six months ago1 twenty-two brigands    
came down from the mountains at         
,velletri1 and carried off four young   
women from the village4 ,a ,vetturino1  
who wished me to return with him to     
,florence1 spoke of this as having      
happened the week before4 ,there is a   
band of about ninety banditti scattered 
through the mountains near ,naples4     
,some years ago they were the terror of 
travellers3 at present they are more    
occupied in escaping from the police    

themselves4 ,but by thus confounding    
dates and names1 all parts of the road  
are easily filled all the year round    
with nothing but robbers and rumours of 
robbers4 ,in short1 any one ,i believe  
can pass with proper precaution from    
,rome to ,naples and back again1 with   
tolerable1 if not with absolute         
security4 ,if he can guard equally      
against petty thieving and constant     
imposition for the rest of his route1 it
 will be well4  ,before leaving ,rome1  
we went to ,tivoli1 of which so much has
 been said4 ,the morning was bright and 
cloudless2 but a thick mist rose from   
the low1 rank1 marshy grounds of the    
,campagna1 and enveloped a number of    
curious objects to the right and left1  
till we approached the sulphurous stream
 of ,solfatara1 which we could          
distinguish at some distance by its     
noise and smell1 and which crossing the 
road like a blue ugly snake1 infects the
 air in its hasty progress to the sea4  
,the bituminous lake from which it      

springs is about a mile distant1 and has
 the remains of an ancient temple on its
 borders4 ,farther on is a round brick  
tower1 the tomb of the ,plautian family1
 and ,adrian's villa glimmers with its  
vernal groves and nodding arches to the 
right4 ,in ,rome1 around it nothing     
strikes the eye1 nothing rivets the     
attention but ruins1 the fragments of   
what has been2 the past is like a halo  
forever surrounding and obscuring the   
present6 ,ruins should be seen in a     
desert1 like those of ,palmyra1 and a   
pilgrimage should be made to them2 but  
who would take up his abode among tombs8
 ,or if there be a country and men in   
it1 why have they nothing to shew but   
the relics of antiquity1 or why are the 
living contented to crawl about like    
worms1 or to hover like shadows in the  
monuments of the dead8 ,every object he 
sees reminds the modern ,roman that he  
is nothing--the spirits of former times 
overshadow him1 and dwarf his pigmy     
efforts3 every object he sees reminds   

the traveller that greatness is its own 
grave4 ,glory cannot last2 for when a   
thing is once done1 it need not be done 
again1 and with the energy to act1 a    
people lose the privilege to be4 ,they  
repose upon the achievements of their   
ancestors2 and because every thing has  
been done for them1 sink into torpor1   
and dwindle into the counterfeits of    
what they were4 ,the ,greeks will not   
recover their freedom till they forget  
that they had ancestors1 for nothing is 
twice because it was once4 ,the         
,americans will perhaps lose theirs1    
when they begin fully to reap all the   
fruits of it2 for the energy necessary  
to acquire freedom1 and the ease that   
follows the enjoyment of it1 are almost 
incompatible4 ,if ,italy should ever be 
any thing again1 it will be when the    
tokens of her former glory1 pictures1   
statues1 triumphal arches are mouldered 
in the dust1 and she has to re-tread the
 gradual stages of civilization1 from   
primeval barbarism to the topmost round 

of luxury and refinement2 or when some  
new light gives her a new impulse2 or   
when the last oppression 7such as in all
 probability impends over her7 equally  
contrary to former independence1 to     
modern apathy1 stinging her to the      
quick1 once more kindles the fire in her
 eye1 and twines the deadly terrors on  
her brow4 ,then she might have music in 
her streets1 the dance beneath her      
vines1 inhabitants in her houses1       
business in her shops1 passengers in her
 roads1 commerce on her shores1 honesty 
in her dealings1 openness in her looks1 
books for the censorship1 the love of   
right for the fear of power1 and a      
calculation of consequences from a      
knowledge of principles--and ,england1  
like the waning moon1 would grow pale in
 the rising dawn of liberty1 that she   
had in vain tried to tarnish and        
obscure6 ,mais assez des reflexions pour
 un voyageur4  ,tivoli is an            
enchanting--a fairy spot4 ,its rocks1   
its grottos1 its temples1 its           

waterfalls1 and the rainbows reflected  
on them1 answer to the description1 and 
make a perfect play upon the            
imagination4 ,every object is light and 
fanciful1 yet steeped in classic        
recollections4 ,the whole is a fine     
net-work--a rare assemblage of intricate
 and high-wrought beauties4 ,to do      
justice to the scene would require the  
pen of ,mr4 ,moore1 minute and striking 
as it is1 sportive yet romantic1        
displaying all the fascinations of      
sense1 and unfolding the mysteries of   
sentiment1          #8,where all is     
strength below1 and all above is        
grace1'--  glittering like a sun-beam on
 the ,sybil's ,temple at top1 or darting
 on a rapid antithesis to the dark      
grotto of the ,god beneath1 loading the 
prismatic spray with epithets1 linking  
the meeting beauties on each side the   
abrupt1 yawning chasm by an             
alliteration1 painting the flowers1     
pointing the rocks1 passing the narrow  
bridge on a dubious metaphor1 and       

blending the natural and artificial1 the
 modern and the antique1 the simple and 
the quaint1 the glimmer and the gloom in
 an exquisite profusion of fluttering   
conceits4 ,he would be able to describe 
it much better1 with its tiny cascades  
and jagged precipices1 than his friend  
,lord ,byron has described the ,fall of 
,terni1 who makes it1 without any reason
 that ,i can find1 tortuous1 dark1 and  
boiling like a witch's cauldron4 ,on the
 contrary1 it is simple and majestic in 
its character1 a clear mountain-stream  
that pours an uninterrupted1 lengthened 
sheet of water over a precipice of eight
 hundred feet1 in perpendicular descent1
 and gracefully winding its way to the  
channel beyond1 while on one side the   
stained rock rises bare and stately the 
whole height1 and on the other1 the     
gradual green woods ascend1 moistened by
 the ceaseless spray1 and lulled by the 
roar of the waterfall1 as the ear enjoys
 the sound of famous poet's verse4 ,if  
this noble and interesting object have a

 fault1 it is that it is too slender1   
straight1 and accompanied with too few  
wild or grotesque ornaments4 ,it is the 
,doric1 or at any rate the ,ionic1 among
 water-falls4 ,it has nothing of the    
texture of ,lord ,byron's terzains1     
twisted1 zigzag1 pent up and struggling 
for a vent1 broken off at the end of a  
line1 or point of a rock1 diving under  
ground1 or out of the reader's          
comprehension1 and pieced on to another 
stanza or shelving rock4--,nature has   
#8,poured it out as plain               
,as downright ,shippen1 or as old       
,montaigne4'  ,to say the truth1 if     
,lord ,byron had put it into ,don ,juan 
instead of ,childe ,harold1 he might    
have compared the part which her        
ladyship has chosen to perform on this  
occasion to an experienced waiter       
pouring a bottle of ale into a tumbler  
at a tavern4 ,it has somewhat of the    
same continued1 plump1 right-lined      
descent4 ,it is not frittered into      
little parts1 nor contrasted into       

quaintness1 nor tortured into fury4 ,all
 the intricacy and contradiction that   
the noble ,poet ascribes to it belong to
 ,tivoli2 but then ,tivoli has none of  
the grandeur or violence of the         
description in ,childe ,harold4 ,the    
poetry is fine1 but not like4  ,as ,i   
have got so far on my way1 ,i may as    
well jump the intermediate space1 and   
proceed with my statistics here1 as     
there was nothing on the road between   
this and ,rome worth mentioning1 except 
,narni 7ten miles from ,terni71 the     
approach to which overlooks a fine1     
bold1 woody1 precipitous valley4 ,we    
stopped at ,terni for the express       
purpose of visiting the ,fall1 which is 
four or five miles from it4 ,the road is
 excellent1 and commands a succession of
 charming points of view4 ,you must pass
 the little village of ,papinio1 perched
 like a set of pigeon-houses on the     
point of a rock about half-way up1 which
 has been battered almost in pieces by  
,french1 ,austrians1 and others at      

different times1 from a fort several    
hundred feet above it1 and that looks   
directly down upon the road4 ,when you  
get to the top of the winding ascent1   
and immediately before you turn off by a
 romantic little path to the waterfall1 
you see the ranges of the ,abruzzi and  
the frozen top of the ,pie de ,lupo4    
,along this road the ,austrian troops   
marched three years ago to the support  
of good government and social order at  
,naples4 ,the prospect of the cold blue 
mountain-tops1 and other prospects which
 the sight of this road recalled1       
chilled me1 and ,i hastened down the    
side-path to lose1 in the roar of the   
,velino tumbling from its rocky height1 
and the wild freedom of nature1 my      
recollection of tyranny and tyrants4 ,on
 a green bank far below1 so as to be    
just discernible1 a shepherd-boy was    
sleeping under the shadow of a tree1    
surrounded by his flock1 enjoying peace 
and freedom1 scarce knowing their names4
 ,that's something--we must wait for the

 rest6  ,we returned to the inn at      
,terni too late to proceed on our       
journey1 and were thrust1 as a special  
favour1 into a disagreeable apartment4  
,we had the satisfaction1 however1 to   
hear the united voices of the passengers
 by two vetturinos1 ,french and ,italian
 men and women1 lifted up against the   
supper and wine as intolerably bad4 ,the
 general complaint was1 that having paid
 so much for our fare1 we were treated  
like beggars--comme des gueux4 ,this was
 true enough1 and not altogether        
unreasonable4 ,let no one who can help  
it1 and who travels for pleasure1 travel
 by a vetturino4 ,you are treated much  
in the same manner as if in ,england you
 went by the caravan or the waggon4 ,in 
fact1 this mode of conveyance is an     
imposition on innkeepers and the public4
 ,it is the result of a combination     
among the vetturino owners1 who bargain 
to provide you for a certain sum1 and   
then billet you upon the innkeepers for 
as little as they can1 who when thus    

obtruded upon them1 under the guarantee 
of a grasping stage-coach driver1       
consider you as common property or prey1
 receive you with incivility1 keep out  
of the way1 will not deign you an       
answer1 stint you in the quantity of    
your provisions1 poison you by the      
quality1 order you into their worst     
apartments1 force other people into the 
same room or even bed with you1 keep you
 in a state of continual irritation and 
annoyance all the time you are in the   
house1 and send you away jaded and      
dissatisfied with your reception1 and   
terrified at the idea of arriving at the
 next place of refreshment1 for fear of 
meeting with a renewal of the same      
contemptible mortifications and petty   
insults4 ,you have no remedy3 if you    
complain to the ,vetturino1 he says it  
is the fault of the innkeeper2 if you   
remonstrate with the innkeeper1 he says 
he has orders from the ,vetturino only  
to provide certain things4 ,it is of    
little use to try to bribe the waiters2 

they doubt your word1 and besides1 do   
not like to forego the privilege of     
treating a vetturino passenger as one4  
,it is best1 if you travel in this      
manner1 to pay for yourself2 and then   
you may stand some chance of decent     
accommodation4 ,i was foolish enough to 
travel twice in this manner1 and pay    
three ,napoleons a day1 for which ,i    
might have gone post1 and fared in the  
most sumptuous manner4 ,i ought to add1 
in justice1 that when ,i have escaped   
from the guardianship of ,monsieur le   
,vetturino and have stopped at inns on  
my own account1 as was the case at      
,venice1 ,milan1 and at ,florence twice1
 ,i have no reason to complain either of
 the treatment or the expence4 ,as to   
economy1 it is in vain to look for it in
 travelling in ,italy or at an hotel2   
and if you succeed in procuring a       
private lodging for a time1 besides the 
everlasting trickery and cabal1 you are 
likely to come off with very meagre     
fare1 unless you can eat ,italian       

dishes4 ,i ought1 however1 to repeat    
what ,i believe ,i have said before1    
that the bread1 butter1 milk1 wine and  
poultry that you get here 7even         
ordinarily7 are excellent1 and that you 
may also obtain excellent tea and       
coffee4  ,we proceeded next morning 7in 
no very good humour7 on our way to      
,spoleto4 ,the day was brilliant1 and   
our road lay through steep and narrow   
defiles for several hours4 ,the sides of
 the hills on each side were wild and   
woody2 indeed1 the whole ride was       
interesting1 and the last hill before we
 came to ,spoleto1 with a fine monastery
 embosomed in its thick tufted trees1   
crowned our satisfaction with the       
journey4 ,spoleto is a handsome town1   
delightfully situated1 and has an       
appearance 7somewhat startling in       
,italy7 as if life were not quite       
extinct in it4 ,it stands on the slope  
of a range of the ,apennines1 extending 
as far as ,foligno and ,perugia1 and    
#8sees and is seen' to a great distance4

 ,from ,perugia in particular 7an       
interval of forty miles7 you seem as if 
you could put your hand upon it1 so     
plain does it appear1 owing to the      
contrast between the white stone-houses1
 and the dark pine-groves by which it is
 surrounded4 ,the effect of this        
contrast is not always pleasant4 ,the   
single cottages or villas scattered in  
the neighbourhood of towns in ,italy1   
often look like dominos or dice spread  
on a dark green cloth4 ,we arrived at   
,foligno early in the evening1 and as a 
memorable exception to the rest of our  
route1 found there an inn equally clean 
and hospitable4 ,from the windows of our
 room we could see the young people of  
the town walking out in a fine open     
country1 to breathe the clear fresh air1
 and the priests sauntering in groups   
and enjoying the otium cum dignitate4   
,it was for some monks of ,foligno that 
,raphael painted his inimitable         
,madonna4  ,we turned off at ,assizi to 
view the triple ,franciscan church and  

monastery4 ,we saw the picture of       
,christ 7shewn by some nuns71 that used 
to smile upon ,st4 ,francis at his      
devotions2 and the little chapel in the 
plain below1 where he preached to his   
followers six hundred years ago1 over   
which a large church is at present      
built1 like ,popery surmounting         
,christianity4 ,the church on the top of
 the hill1 built soon after his death in
 honour of the saint1 and where his     
heart reposes1 is a curiosity in its    
kind4 ,first1 two churches were raised1 
one on the top of the other1 and then a 
third was added below with some         
difficulty1 by means of excavations in  
the rock4 ,the last boasts a modern and 
somewhat finical mausoleum or shrine1   
and the two first are ornamented with   
fresco paintings by ,giotto and         
,ghirlandaio1 which are most interesting
 and valuable specimens of the early    
history of the art4 ,i see nothing to   
contemn in them--much to admire--fine   
heads1 simple grouping1 a knowledge of  

drawing and foreshortening1 and         
dignified attitudes and expressions1    
some of which ,raphael has not disdained
 to copy1 though he has improved upon   
them4 ,st4 ,francis died about #abbj1   
and this church was finished and        
ornamented with these designs of the    
chief actions of his life1 within forty 
months afterwards2 so that the pictures 
in question must be about six hundred   
years old4 ,we are not1 however1 to     
wonder at the maturity of these         
productions of the pencil2 the art did  
not arise out of barbarism or nothing1  
but from a lofty preconception in the   
minds of those who first practised it1  
and applied it to purposes of devotion4 
,even the grace and majesty of ,raphael 
were1 ,i apprehend1 but emanations of   
the spirit of the ,roman ,catholic      
religion1 and existed virtually in the  
minds of his countrymen long before and 
after he transferred them1 with         
consummate skill1 to the canvass4 ,not a
 ,madonna scrawled on the walls near    

,rome1 not a baby-house figure of the   
,virgin1 that is out of character and   
costume1 or that is not imbued with an  
expression of resignation1 benignity1   
and purity4 ,we were shewn these        
different objects by a young priest1 who
 explained them to us with a            
gracefulness of manner1 and a mild      
eloquence1 characteristic of his order4 
,i forgot to mention1 in the proper     
place1 that ,i was quite delighted with 
the external deportment of the          
ecclesiastics in ,rome4 ,it was marked  
by a perfect propriety1 decorum1 and    
humanity1 from the highest to the       
lowest4 ,not the slightest look or      
gesture to remind you that you were     
foreigners or heretics--an example of   
civility that is far from being         
superfluous1 even in the capital of the 
,christian world4 ,it may be said that  
this is art1 and a desire to gain upon  
the good opinion of strangers4 ,be it   
so1 but it must be allowed that it is   
calculated to this end4 ,good manners   

have this advantage over good morals1   
that they lie more upon the surface2 and
 there is nothing1 ,i own1 that inclines
 me to think so well of the             
understandings or dispositions of       
others1 as a thorough absence of all    
impertinence4 ,i do not think they can  
be the worst people in the world who    
habitually pay most attention to the    
feelings of others2 nor those the best  
who are endeavouring every moment to    
hurt them4 ,at ,perugia1 while looking  
at some panels in a church painted by   
,pietro ,perugino1 we met with a young  
,irish priest1 who claimed acquaintance 
with us as country-folks1 and           
recommended our staying six days1 to see
 the ceremonies and finery attending the
 translation of the deceased head of his
 order from the church where he lay to  
his final resting-place4 ,we were       
obliged by this proposal1 but declined  
it4 ,it was curious to hear ,english    
spoken by the inmate of a ,benedictine  
,monastery1--to see the manners of an   

,italian priest engrafted on the ,irish 
accent--to think that distant countries 
are brought together by agreement in    
religion--that the same country is rent 
asunder by differences in it4 ,man is   
certainly an ideal being1 whom the      
breath of an opinion wafts from ,indus  
to the ,pole1 and who is ready to       
sacrifice the present world and every   
object in it for a reversion in the     
skies6 ,perugia is situated on a lofty  
hill1 and is in appearance the most     
solid mass of building ,i ever beheld4  
,it commands a most extensive view in   
all directions1 and the ascent to it is 
precipitous on every side4 ,travelling  
this road from ,rome to ,florence is    
like an eagle's flight--from hill-top to
 hill-top1 from towered city to city1   
and your eye devours your way before you
 over hill or plain4 ,we saw ,cortona on
 our right1 looking over its wall of    
ancient renown1 conscious of its worth1 
not obtruding itself on superficial     
notice2 and passed through ,arezzo1 the 

reputed birth-place of ,petrarch4 ,all  
the way we were followed 7hard upon7 by 
another ,vetturino1 with an ,english    
family1 and we had a scramble whenever  
we stopped for supper1 beds1 or milk4   
,at ,incisa1 the last stage before we   
arrived at ,florence1 an intimation was 
conveyed that we should give up our     
apartments in the inn1 and seek for     
lodgings elsewhere4 ,this modest        
proposition could come only from        
,english people1 who have such an       
opinion of their dormant stock of       
pretended good-nature1 that they think  
all the world must in return be ready to
 give up their own comforts to oblige   
them4 ,we had two ,french gentlemen in  
the coach with us1 equally well-behaved 
and well-informed1 and two ,italians in 
the cabriolet1 as good-natured and      
#8honest as the skin between their      
brows4' ,near ,perugia we passed the    
celebrated lake of ,thrasymene1 near    
which ,hannibal defeated the ,roman     
consul ,flaminius4 ,it struck me as not 

unlike ,windermere in character and     
scenery1 but ,i have seen other lakes   
since1 which have driven it out of my   
head4 ,florence 7the city of flowers7   
seemed to deserve its name as we entered
 it for the second time more than it did
 the first4 ,the weather had been cold  
during part of our journey1 but now it  
had changed to sultry heat4 ,the people 
looked exceedingly plain and            
hard-featured1 after having passed      
through the ,roman ,states4 ,they have  
the look of the ,scotch people1 only    
fiercer and more ill-tempered4          
,,chapter ,,xxii   ,i have already      
described the road between ,florence and
 ,bologna4 ,i found it much the same on 
returning2 for barren rocks and         
mountains undergo little alteration     
either in summer or winter4 ,indeed1 of 
the two1 ,i prefer the effect in the    
most dreary season1 for it is then most 
complete and consistent with itself3 on 
some kinds of scenery1 as on some       
characters1 any attempt at the gay and  

pleasing sits ill1 and is a mere piece  
of affectation4 ,there is so far a      
distinction between the ,apennines and  
,alps1 that the latter are often covered
 with woods1 and with patches of the    
richest verdure1 and are capable of all 
the gloom of winter or the bloom of     
spring4 ,the soil of the ,apennines1 on 
the contrary1 is as dry and gritty as   
the rocks themselves1 being nothing but 
a collection of sand-heaps and ashes1   
and mocks at every idea that is not of a
 repulsive and disagreeable kind4 ,we   
stopped the first night at ,traversa1 a 
miserable inn or almost hovel on the    
road side1 in the most desolate part of 
this track2 and found amidst scenes1    
which the imagination and the pen of    
travellers have peopled with ghastly    
phantoms and the assassin's midnight    
revelry1 a kind but simple reception1   
and the greatest sweetness of manners1  
prompted by the wish1 but conscious of  
being perhaps without the means to      
please4 ,courtesy in cities or palaces  

goes for little1 means little1 for it   
may and must be put on2 in the cottage  
or on the mountain-side it is welcome to
 the heart1 for it comes from it4 ,it   
then has its root in unsophisticated    
nature1 without the gloss of art1 and   
shews us the original goodness of the   
soil or germ1 from which human          
affections and social intercourse in all
 their ramifications spring4 ,a little  
boy clung about its mother1 wondering at
 the strangers2 but from the very       
thoughts of novelty and distance1       
nestling more fondly in the bosom of    
home4 ,what is the map of ,europe1 what 
all the glories of it1 what the         
possession of them1 to that poor little 
fellow's dream1 to his sidelong glance  
at that wide world of fancy that circles
 his native rocks6  ,the second morning1
 we reached the last of the ,apennines  
that overlook ,bologna1 and saw         
stretched out beneath our feet a        
different scene1 the vast plain of      
,lombardy1 and almost the whole of the  

,north of ,italy1 like a rich sea of    
boundless verdure1 with towns and villas
 spotting it like the sails of ships4 ,a
 hazy inlet of the ,adriatic appeared to
 the right 7probably the ,gulph of      
,comachio74 ,we strained our eyes in    
vain to catch a doubtful view of the    
,alps1 but they were still sunk below   
the horizon4 ,we presently descended    
into this plain 7which formed a perfect 
contrast to the country we had lately   
passed71 and it answered fully to the   
promise it had given us4 ,we travelled  
for days1 for weeks through it1 and     
found nothing but ripeness1 plenty1 and 
beauty4 ,it may well be called the      
,garden of ,italy or of the ,world4 ,the
 whole way from ,bologna to ,venice1    
from ,venice to ,milan1 it is literally 
so4 ,but ,i anticipate4--,we went to our
 old inn at ,bologna1 which we liked    
better the second time than the first2  
and had just time to snatch a glimpse of
 the ,guidos and ,domenichinos at the   
,academy1 which gleamed dark and        

beautiful through the twilight4 ,we set 
out early the next morning on our way to
 ,venice1 turning off to ,ferrara4 ,it  
was a fine spring morning4 ,the dew was 
on the grass1 and shone like diamonds in
 the sun4 ,a refreshing breeze fanned   
the light-green odorous branches of the 
trees1 which spread their shady screen  
on each side of the road1 which lay     
before us as straight as an arrow for   
miles4 ,venice was at the end of it2    
,padua1 ,ferrara1 midway4 ,the prospect 
7both to the sense and to the           
imagination7 was exhilarating2 and we   
enjoyed it for some hours1 till we      
stopped to breakfast at a smart-looking 
detached inn at a turning of the road1  
called1 ,i think1 the ,albergo di       
,venezia4 ,this was one of the          
pleasantest places we came to during the
 whole of our route4 ,we were shewn into
 a long saloon1 into which the sun shone
 at one extremity1 and we looked out    
upon the green fields and trees at the  
other4 ,there were flowers in the room4 

,an excellent breakfast of coffee1      
bread1 butter1 eggs1 and slices of      
,bologna sausages was served up with    
neatness and attention4 ,an elderly     
female1 thin1 without a cap1 and with   
white thread-stockings1 watched at the  
door of a chamber not far from us1 with 
the patience of an eastern slave4 ,the  
door opened1 and a white robe was handed
 out1 which she aired carefully over a  
chaffing-dish with mechanical           
indifference1 and an infinite           
reduplication of the same folds4 ,it was
 our young landlady who was dressing for
 church within1 and who at length issued
 out1 more remarkable for the           
correctness of her costume than the     
beauty of her person4 ,some rustics     
below were playing at a game1 that from 
the incessant loud jarring noises of    
counting that accompanied it1 implied   
equally good lungs and nerves in the    
performers and by-standers4 ,at the     
tinkling of a village bell1 all was in a
 moment silent1 and the entrance of a   

little chapel was crowded with old and  
young1 kneeling in postures of more or  
less earnest devotion4 ,we walked       
forward1 delighted with the appearance  
of the country1 and with the simple     
manners of the inhabitants2 nor could we
 have proceeded less than four or five  
miles along an excellent footpath1 but  
under a broiling sun1 before we saw any 
signs of our ,vetturino1 who was willing
 to take this opportunity of easing his 
horses--a practice common with those    
sort of gentry4 ,instead of a           
fellow-feeling with you1 you find an    
instinctive inclination in persons of   
this class all through ,italy to cheat  
and deceive you3 the more easy or       
cordial you are with them1 the greater  
is their opinion of your folly and their
 own cunning1 and the more are they     
determined to repel or evade any        
advances to a fair understanding3       
threaten1 or treat them with indignity1 
and you have some check over them2 relax
 the reins a moment1 and they are sure  

to play you some scurvy trick4  ,at     
,ferrara we were put on short allowance1
 and as we found remonstrance vain1 we  
submitted in silence4 ,we were the more 
mortified at this treatment1 as we had  
begun to hope for better things2 but    
,mr4 ,henry ,waister1 our ,commissary on
 the occasion1 was determined to make a 
good thing of his three ,napoleons      
a-day2 he had strained a point in       
procuring us a tolerable supper and     
breakfast at the two last stages1 which 
must serve for some time to come2 and as
 he would not pay for our dinner1 the   
landlord would not let us have one1 and 
there the matter rested4 ,we walked out 
in the evening1 and found ,ferrara      
enchanting4 ,of all the places ,i have  
seen in ,italy1 it is the one by far ,i 
should most covet to live in4 ,it is the
 ideal of an ,italian city1 once great1 
now a shadow of itself4 ,whichever way  
you turn1 you are struck with           
picturesque beauty and faded splendours1
 but with nothing squalid1 mean1 or     

vulgar4 ,the grass grows in the         
well-paved streets4 ,you look down long 
avenues of buildings1 or of garden      
walls1 with summer-houses or fruit-trees
 projecting over them1 and airy palaces 
with dark portraits gleaming through the
 grated windows--you turn1 and a chapel 
bounds your view one way1 a broken arch 
another1 at the end of the vacant1      
glimmering1 fairy perspective4 ,you are 
in a dream1 in the heart of a romance2  
you enjoy the most perfect solitude1    
that of a city which was once filled    
with #8the busy hum of men1' and of     
which the tremulous fragments at every  
step strike the sense1 and call up      
reflection4 ,in short1 nothing is to be 
seen of ,ferrara1 but the remains1      
graceful and romantic1 of what it       
was--no sordid object intercepts or     
sullies the retrospect of the past--it  
is not degraded and patched up like     
,rome1 with upstart improvements1 with  
earthenware and oil-shops2 it is a      
classic vestige of antiquity1 drooping  

into peaceful decay1 a sylvan suburb--  
#8,where buttress1 wall and tower       
,seem fading fast away                  
,from human thoughts and purposes1      
,to yield to some transforming power1   
,and blend with the surrounding trees4' 
,here ,ariosto lived--here ,tasso       
occupied first a palace1 and then a     
dungeon4 ,verona has even a more        
sounding name2 boasts a finer situation1
 and contains the tomb of ,juliet4 ,but 
the same tender melancholy grace does   
not hang upon its walls1 nor hover round
 its precincts as round those of        
,ferrara1 inviting to endless leisure   
and pensive musing4 ,ferrara1 while it  
was an independent state1 was a         
flourishing and wealthy city1 and       
contained #gj1jjj inhabitants2 but from 
the time it fell into the hands of the  
,popes1 in #aeig1 it declined1 and it   
has now little more than an historical  
and poetical being4  ,from ,ferrara we  
proceeded through ,rovigo to ,padua the 
,learned1 where we were more fortunate  

in our inn1 and where1 in the fine open 
square at the entrance1 ,i first        
perceived the rage for vulgar and       
flaunting statuary1 which distinguishes 
the ,lombardo-,venetian ,states4 ,the   
traveller to ,venice 7who goes there to 
see the masterpieces of ,titian or      
,palladio's admired designs71 runs the  
gauntlet all the way along at every town
 or villa he passes1 of the most clumsy1
 affected1 paltry1 sprawling figures1   
cut in stone1 that ever disgraced the   
chisel4 ,even their crucifixes and      
common ,madonnas are in bad taste and   
proportion4 ,this inaptitude for the    
representation of forms in a people1    
whose eye for colours transcended that  
of all the world besides1 is striking as
 it is curious3 and it would be worth   
the study of a man's whole life to give 
a true and satisfactory solution of the 
mystery4 ,padua1 though one of the      
oldest towns in ,italy1 is still a place
 of some resort and bustle2 among other 
causes1 from the number of ,venetian    

families who are in the habit of        
spending the summer months there4 ,soon 
after leaving it1 you begin to cross the
 canals and rivers which intersect this 
part of the country bordering upon the  
sea1 and for some miles you follow the  
course of the ,brenta along a flat1     
dusty1 and unprofitable road4 ,this is a
 period of considerable and painful     
suspense1 till you arrive at ,fusina1   
where you are put into a boat and rowed 
down one of the ,lagunes1 where over    
banks of high rank grass and reeds1 and 
between solitary sentry-boxes at        
different intervals1 you see ,venice    
rising from the sea4 ,for an hour and a 
half1 that it takes you to cross from   
the last point of land to this ,spouse  
of the ,adriatic1 its long line of      
spires1 towers1 churches1 wharfs is     
stretched along the water's edge1 and   
you view it with a mixture of awe and   
incredulity4 ,a city built in the air   
would be something still more wonderful2
 but any other must yield the palm to   

this for singularity and imposing       
effect4 ,if it were on the firm land1 it
 would rank as one of the first cities  
in ,europe for magnificence1 size1 and  
beauty2 as it is1 it is without a rival4
 ,i do not know what ,lord ,byron and   
,lady ,morgan could mean by quarrelling 
about the question who first called     
,venice #8the ,rome of the sea'--since  
it is perfectly unique in its kind4 ,if 
a parallel must be found for it1 it is  
more like ,genoa shoved into the sea4   
,genoa stands on the sea1 this in it4   
,the effect is certainly magical1       
dazzling1 perplexing4 ,you feel at first
 a little giddy3 you are not quite sure 
of your footing as on the deck of a     
vessel4 ,you enter its narrow1 cheerful 
canals1 and find that instead of their  
being scooped out of the earth1 you are 
gliding amidst rows of palaces and under
 broad-arched bridges1 piled on the     
sea-green wave4 ,you begin to think that
 you must cut your liquid way in this   
manner through the whole city1 and use  

oars instead of feet4 ,you land1 and    
visit quays1 squares1 market-places1    
theatres1 churches1 halls1 palaces2     
ascend tall towers1 and stroll through  
shady gardens1 without being once       
reminded that you are not on terra      
firma4 ,the early inhabitants of this   
side of ,italy1 driven by ,attila and   
his hordes of ,huns from the land1      
sought shelter in the sea1 built there  
for safety and liberty1 laid the first  
foundations of ,venice in the rippling  
wave1 and commerce1 wealth1 luxury1     
arts1 and crimson conquest crowned the  
growing ,republic2--                    
#8,and ,ocean smil'd1                   
,well pleased to see his wondrous       
child4'  ,man1 proud of his amphibious  
creation1 spared no pains to aggrandize 
and embellish it1 even to extravagance  
and excess4 ,the piles and blocks of    
wood on which it stands are brought from
 the huge forests at ,treviso and       
,cadore3 the stones that girt its       
circumference1 and prop its walls1 are  

dug from the mountains of ,istria and   
,dalmatia3 the marbles that inlay its   
palace-floors are hewn from the quarries
 near ,verona4 ,venice is loaded with   
ornament1 like a rich city-heiress with 
jewels4 ,it seems the natural order of  
things4 ,her origin was a wonder3 her   
end is to surprise4 ,the strong1        
implanted tendency of her genius must be
 to the showy1 the singular1 the        
fantastic4 ,herself an anomaly1 she     
reconciles contradictions1 liberty with 
aristocracy1 commerce with nobility1 the
 want of titles with the pride of birth 
and heraldry4 ,a violent birth in       
nature1 she lays greedy1 perhaps        
ill-advised1 hands on all the artificial
 advantages that can supply her original
 defects4 ,use turns to gaudy beauty2   
extreme hardship to intemperance in     
pleasure4 ,from the level uniform       
expanse that forever encircles her1 she 
would obviously affect the aspiring in  
forms1 the quaint1 the complicated1     
relief and projection4 ,the richness and

 foppery of her architecture arise from 
this3 its stability and excellence      
probably from another circumstance      
counteracting this tendency to the      
buoyant and fluttering1 viz41 the       
necessity of raising solid edifices on  
such slippery foundations1 and of not   
playing tricks with stone-walls upon the
 water4 ,her eye for colours and costume
 she would bring with conquest from the 
,east4 ,the spirit1 intelligence1 and   
activity of her men1 she would derive   
from their ancestors3 the grace1 the    
glowing animation and bounding step of  
her women1 from the sun and             
mountain-breeze6 ,the want of simplicity
 and severity in ,venetian taste seems  
owing to this1 that all here is         
factitious and the work of art3         
redundancy again is an attribute of     
commerce1 whose eye is gross and large1 
and does not admit of the too much2 and 
as to irregularity and want of fixed    
principles1 we may account by analogy at
 least for these1 from that element of  

which ,venice is the nominal bride1 to  
which she owes her all1 and the very    
essence of which is caprice1            
uncertainty1 and vicissitude6           
#8,and now from out the watery floor    
,a city rose1 and well she wore         
,her beauty1 and stupendous walls1      
,and towers that touched the stars1 and 
halls               ,pillar'd with      
whitest marble1 whence                  
,palace on lofty palace sprung3         
,and over all rich gardens hung1        
,where1 amongst silver water-falls1     
,cedars and spice-trees1 and green      
bowers1               ,and sweet winds  
playing with all the flowers            
,of ,persia and of ,araby1              
,walked princely shapes2 some with an   
air               ,like warriors2 some  
like ladies fair                        
,listening 444               ,in supreme
 magnificence4'  ,this1 which is a      
description of a dream of ,babylon of   
old1 by a living poet1 is realized      
almost literally in modern ,venice4     

,,chapter ,,xxiii   ,i never saw palaces
 anywhere but at ,venice4 ,those at     
,rome are dungeons compared to them4    
,they generally come down to the water's
 edge1 and as there are canals on each  
side of them1 you see them four-square4 
,the views by ,canaletti are very like1 
both for the effect of the buildings and
 the hue of the water4 ,the principal   
are by ,palladio1 ,longhena1 and        
,sansovino4 ,they are massy1 elegant1   
well-proportioned1 costly in materials1 
profuse of ornament4 ,perhaps if they   
were raised above the water's edge on   
low terraces 7as some of them are71 the 
appearance of comfort and security would
 be greater1 though the architectural   
daring1 the poetical miracle would      
appear less4 ,as it is1 they seem       
literally to be suspended in the        
water4--,the richest in interior        
decoration that ,i saw1 was the ,grimani
 ,palace1 which answered to all the     
imaginary conditions of this sort of    
thing4 ,aladdin might have exchanged his

 for it1 and given his lamp into the    
bargain4 ,the floors are of marble1 the 
tables of precious stones1 the chairs   
and curtains of rich silk1 the walls    
covered with looking-glasses1 and it    
contains a cabinet of invaluable antique
 sculpture1 and some of ,titian's finest
 portraits4 ,i never knew the practical 
amount to the poetical1 or furniture    
seem to grow eloquent but in this       
instance4 ,the rooms were not too large 
for comfort neither2 for space is a     
consideration at ,venice4 ,all that it  
wanted of an ,eastern ,palace was light 
and air1 with distant vistas of hill and
 grove4 ,a genealogical tree of the     
family was hung up in one of the rooms1 
beginning with the founder in the ninth 
century1 and ending with the present    
representative of it2 and one of the    
portraits1 by ,titian1 was of a ,doge of
 the family1 looking just like an ugly1 
spiteful old woman2 but with a truth of 
nature1 and a force of character that no
 one ever gave but he4 ,i saw no other  

mansion equal to this4 ,the ,pisani is  
the next to it for elegance and         
splendour2 and from its situation on the
 ,grand ,canal1 it admits a flood of    
bright day through glittering curtains  
of pea-green silk1 into a noble saloon1 
enriched with an admirable              
family-picture by ,paul ,veronese1 with 
heads equal to ,titian for all but the  
character of thought4  ,close to this is
 the ,barberigo ,palace1 in which       
,titian lived1 and in which he died1    
with his painting-room just in the state
 in which he left it4 ,it is hung round 
with pictures1 some of his latest works1
 such as the ,magdalen and the ,salvator
 ,mundi 7which are common in prints71   
and with an unfinished sketch of ,st4   
,sebastian1 on which he was employed at 
the time of his death4 ,titian was      
ninety-nine when he died1 and was at    
last carried off by the plague4 ,my     
guide who was enthusiastic on the       
subject of ,venetian art1 would not     
allow any falling-off in these latest   

efforts of his mighty pencil1 but       
represented him as prematurely cut off  
in the height of his career4 ,he knew1  
he said1 an old man1 who had died a year
 ago1 at one hundred and twenty4 ,the   
,venetians may still live to be old1 but
 they do not paint like ,titian6 ,the   
,magdalen is imposing and expressive1   
but the colouring is tinted 7quite      
different from ,titian's usual          
simplicity7 and it has a flaccid1       
meretricious1 affectedly lachrymose     
appearance1 which ,i by no means like4  
,there is a slabbery freedom or a stiff 
grandeur about most of these            
productions1 which1 ,i think1 savoured  
of an infirm hand and eye1 accompanied  
with a sense of it4 ,titian1 it is said1
 thought he improved to the last1 and   
wished to get possession of his former  
pictures1 to paint them over again1 upon
 broader and more scientific principles1
 as some authors have wished to re-write
 their works3 there was a small model of
 him in wax1 done by a contemporary     

artist in his extreme old age1 shewn in 
,london a year or two ago1 with the     
black velvet cap1 the green gown1 and a 
white sleeve appearing from under it1   
against a pale1 shrivelled hand4 ,the   
arrangement of colouring was so truly   
characteristic1 that it was probably    
dictated by himself4 ,it may be         
interesting to artists to be told1 that 
the room in the ,barberigo ,palace 7said
 to be his painting-room7 has nearly a  
southern aspect4 ,there are some other  
indifferent pictures hanging in the     
room1 by painters before his time1      
probably some that he had early in his  
possession1 and kept longest for that   
reason4 ,it is an event in one's life to
 find one's-self in ,titian's           
painting-room4 ,yet it did not quite    
answer to my expectations--a hot sun    
shone into the room1 and the gondola in 
which we came was unusually             
close--neither did ,i stoop and kiss the
 stone which covers his dust1 though ,i 
have worshipped him on this side of     

idolatry6                   #8,ci giace 
il gran ,titiano di ,vecelli1           
,emulator di ,zeusi e di gl',apelli4'   
,this is the inscription on his tomb in 
the church of the ,frati4 ,i read it    
twice over1 but it would not do4 ,why   
grieve for the immortals8 ,one is not   
exactly one's-self on such occasions1   
and enthusiasm has its intermittent and 
stubborn fits2 besides1 mine is1 at     
present1 ,i suspect1 a kind of ,july    
shoot1 that must take its rise from the 
stock of former impressions4 ,it spread 
aloft on the withered branches of the   
,st4 ,peter ,martyr1 and shot out more  
kindly still from seeing three pictures 
of his1 close together1 at the house of 
,signor ,manfrini 7a ,venetian          
tobacconist71 an elaborate ,portrait of 
his friend ,ariosto--sharp-featured and 
tawny-coloured1 with a light ,morisco   
look--a bronzed duplicate of the ,four  
,ages at the ,marquess of               
,stafford's--and his ,mistress 7which is
 in the ,louvre7 introduced into a      

composition with a gay cavalier and a   
page4 ,i was glad to see her in company 
so much fitter for her than her old     
lover2 and besides1 the varied grouping 
gave new life and reality to this       
charming vision4 ,the two last pictures 
are doubtfully ascribed to ,giorgioni1  
and this critical equivoque was a source
 of curiosity and wonder4 ,giorgioni is 
the only painter with respect to whom   
this could be made a question 7the      
distinction between ,titian and the     
other painters of the ,venetian school1 
,tintoret and ,paul ,veronese1 is broad 
and palpable enough7--and for myself1 ,i
 incline to attribute the last of the   
three chef d'uvres above enumerated to  
,giorgioni4 ,the difference1 it appears 
to me1 may be thus stated4 ,there is    
more glow and animation in ,giorgioni   
than in ,titian4 ,he is of a franker and
 more genial spirit4 ,titian has more   
subtilty and meaning1 ,giorgioni more   
life and youthful blood4 ,the feeling in
 the one is suppressed2 in the other1 it

 is overt and transparent4 ,titian's are
 set portraits1 with the smallest       
possible deviation from the straight    
line3 they look as if they were going to
 be shot1 or to shoot somebody4         
,giorgioni1 in what ,i have seen of his 
pictures1 as the ,gaston de ,foix1 the  
,music-piece at ,florence1 c4 is full of
 inflection and contrast2 there is      
seldom a particle of it in ,titian4 ,an 
appearance of silence1 a tendency to    
still-life1 pervades ,titian's          
portraits2 in ,giorgioni's there is a   
bending attitude1 and a flaunting air1  
as if floating in gondolas or listening 
to music4 ,for all these reasons        
7perhaps slenderly put together7 ,i am  
disposed to think the portrait of the   
young man in the picture alluded to is  
by ,giorgioni1 from the flushed cheek1  
the good-natured smile1 and the careless
 attitude2 and for the same reason1 ,i  
think it likely that even the portrait  
of the lady is originally his1 and that 
,titian copied and enlarged the design  

into the one we see in the ,louvre1 for 
the head 7supposed to be of himself1 in 
the background7 is middle-aged1 and     
,giorgioni died while ,titian was yet   
young4 ,the question of priority in this
 case is a very nice one2 and it would  
be curious to ascertain the truth by    
tradition or private documents of any   
kind4  ,i teazed my valet de place 7,mr4
 ,andrew ,wyche1 a ,tyrolese1 a very    
pleasant1 companionable1 and patriotic  
sort of person7 the whole of the first  
morning at every fresh landing or       
embarkation by asking1 #8,but are we    
going to see the ,saint ,peter ,martyr8'
 ,when we reached the ,church of ,saint 
,john and ,saint ,paul1 the light did   
not serve1 and we got reprimanded by the
 priest for turning our backs on the    
host1 in our anxiety to find a proper   
point of view4 ,we returned to the      
charge at five in the afternoon1 when   
the light fell upon it through a        
high-arched ,gothic window1 and it came 
out in all its pristine glory1 with its 

rich1 embrowned1 overshadowing trees1   
its nobly-drawn heroic figures1 its     
blood-stained garments1 its flowers and 
trailing plants1 and that cold          
convent-spire rising in the distance    
amidst the sapphire mountains and the   
golden sky4 ,i found every thing in its 
place and as ,i expected4 ,yet ,i am    
unwilling to say that ,i saw it through 
my former impressions3 this picture     
suffices to itself1 and fills the mind  
without an effort2 for it contains all  
the mighty world of landscape and       
history1 grandeur and breadth of form   
with the richest depth of colouring1 an 
expression characteristic1 powerful1    
that cannot be mistaken1 conveying the  
scene at the moment1 a masterly freedom 
and unerring truth of execution1 and a  
subject as original as it is stately and
 romantic4 ,it is the foremost of       
,titian's productions1 and exhibits the 
most extraordinary specimen of his      
varied powers4 ,most probably1 as a     
picture1 it is the finest in the world2 

or if ,i cannot say it is the picture   
which ,i would the soonest have painted1
 it is at least the one which ,i would  
the soonest have4 ,it is a rich feast to
 the eye1 #8where no crude surfeit      
reigns4' ,as an instance of the         
difference between ,titian and ,raphael1
 you here see the figures from below1   
and they stand out with noble grandeur  
of effect against the sky2 ,raphael     
would have buried them under the        
horizon1 or stuck them against the      
landscape1 without relief or motion4 ,so
 much less knowledge had he of the      
picturesque6 ,again1 ,i do not think    
,raphael could have given the momentary 
expression of sudden1 ghastly terror1 or
 the hurried1 disorderly movements of   
the flying ,monk1 or the entire         
prostration of the other 7like a rolling
 ruin7 so well as ,titian4 ,the latter  
could not1 ,i know1 raise a sentiment to
 its height like the former2 but        
,raphael's expressions and attitudes    
were 7so to speak7 the working out of   

#8foregone conclusions1' not the        
accidental fluctuations of mind or      
matter--were final and fixed1#dg not    
salient or variable4 ,i observed1 in    
looking closer1 that the hinder or      
foreshortened leg of the flying monk    
rests upon the edge of a bank of earth1 
from which he is descending4 ,this      
explains the action of the part better1 
but ,i doubt whether this idea of       
inequality and interruption from the    
broken nature of the ground is an       
addition to the feeling of precipitate  
fear and staggering perplexity in the   
mind of the person represented4 ,this   
may be an hypercriticism4 ,the colouring
 of the foremost leg of this figure is  
sufficient to prove that the utter      
paleness of the rest of it is from its  
having faded in the course of time4 ,the
 colour of the face in this and the     
other monk is the same as it was twenty 
years ago2 it has sustained no injury in
 that time4 ,but for the sun-burnt1     
well-baked1 robust tone of the          

flesh-colour1 commend me to the leg and 
girded thigh of the robber4 ,what a     
difference between this and ,raphael's  
brick-dust6--,i left this admirable     
performance with regret2 yet ,i do not  
see why2 for ,i have it present with me1
 #8in my mind's eye1' and swear1 in the 
wildest scenes of the ,alps1 that the   
,st4 ,peter ,martyr is finer4 ,that1 and
 the ,man in the ,louvre1 are my        
standards of perfection2 my taste may be
 wrong2 nay1 even ridiculous--yet such  
it is4  ,the picture of the ,assumption1
 at the ,academy of ,painting at        
,venice1 which was discovered but the   
other day under a load of dirt and      
varnish1 is cried up as even superior to
 the ,st4 ,peter3 it is indeed a more   
extraordinary picture for the artist to 
have painted2 but for that very reason  
it is neither so perfect nor so         
valuable4 ,raphael could not paint      
landscape2 ,titian could hardly paint   
history without the help of landscape4  
,a background was necessary to him1 like

 music to a melodrame4 ,he had in this  
picture attempted the style of ,raphael1
 and has succeeded and even failed--to  
admiration4 ,he has given the detached  
figures of the ,roman school1 the       
contrasted1 uniform colours of their    
draperies1 the same determined outline1 
no breaking of the colours or play of   
light and shade1 and has aimed at the   
same elevation and force of expression4 
,the drawing has nearly the same        
firmness with more scope1 the colouring 
is richer and almost as hard1 the       
attitudes are imposing and significant1 
and the features handsome--what then is 
wanting8 ,that glow of heavenward       
devotion bent on ideal objects1 and     
taking up its abode in the human form   
and countenance as in a shrine2 that    
high and abstracted expression1 that    
outward and visible sign of an inward   
and invisible grace1 which ,raphael     
alone could give in its utmost purity   
and intensity4 ,one glimpse of the      
,crowning of the ,virgin in the ,vatican

 is worth it all--lifts the mind nigher 
to the subject1 dissolves it in greater 
sweetness1 sinks it in deeper           
thoughtfulness4 ,the eager headlong     
enthusiasm of the ,apostle to the right 
in a green mantle is the best2 the      
lambent eyes and suffused glow of the   
,st4 ,john are only the indications of  
rosy health1 and youthful animation2 the
 ,virgin is a well-formed rustic beauty 
with a little affectation1 and the      
attitude of the ,supreme ,being is      
extravagant and distorted4 ,raphael     
could have painted this subject1 as to  
its essential qualities1 better2 he     
could not have done the ,st4 ,peter     
,martyr in any respect so well4 ,i like 
,titian's ,martyrdom of ,st4 ,lawrence  
7notwithstanding the horror of the      
subject7 better than the ,assumption1   
for its characteristic expression1      
foreshortening1 and fine mellow masses  
of light and shade4 ,titian could come  
nearer the manner of ,michael ,angelo   
than that of ,raphael1 from an eye for  

what was grand and impressive in outward
 form and position1 as his frescoes of  
,prometheus1 ,cain and ,abel1 and       
another grotesque and gigantic subject  
on the ceiling of one of the churches1  
shew4 ,these1 in picturesque grouping1  
in muscular relief1 and vastness of     
contour1 surpass ,michael ,angelo's     
figures in the ,last ,judgment1 however 
they may fall short of them in          
anatomical knowledge or accuracy4 ,i    
also was exceedingly delighted with the 
,salutation of the ,virgin at the       
,academy1 which is shewn as one of his  
masterpieces1 for the mixture of airy   
scenic effect with the truth of         
individual portraiture4 ,the churches   
and public buildings here bear ample    
testimony to the powers of ,titian's    
historic pencil1 though ,i did not see  
enough of his portraits in private      
collections1 of which ,i had hoped to   
take my fill4 ,in the large hall of the 
,academy of ,painting are also the fine 
picture of the ,miracle of ,saint ,mark 

by ,tintoret1 an inimitable             
representation of a religious and       
courtly ceremony by ,paris ,bourbon     
7inimitable for the light1 rich1        
gauze-colouring1 and magical effect of  
the figures in perspective71 and several
 others of vast merit as well as        
imposing dimensions4 ,the ,doge's       
,palace and the ,council-,chamber of the
 ,senate are adorned with the lavish    
performances of ,tintoret and ,paul     
,veronese2 and in the allegorical       
figures in the ceiling of the           
,council-,chamber1 and in the splendid  
delineation of a ,doge returning thanks 
to the ,virgin for some victory over the
 ,infidels1 which occupies the end of   
it1 ,i think the last-named painter has 
reached the top of his own and of       
,venetian art4 ,as an art of decoration1
 addressing itself to the eye1 to the   
vain or voluptuous part of our          
constitution1 it cannot be carried      
farther4 ,of all pictures this          
,thanksgiving is the most dazzling1 the 

most florid4 ,a rainbow is not more rich
 in hues1 a bubble that glitters in the 
sun is not more light and glossy1 a bed 
of tulips is not more gaudy4 ,a flight  
of angels with rosy hues and winged     
glories connects the heavenly and the   
earthly groups like a garland of        
blushing flowers4 ,the skill and        
delicacy of this composition is equal to
 its brilliancy of effect4 ,his marriage
 of ,cana 7another wonderful            
performance7 is still at ,paris3 it was 
formerly in the ,refectory of the church
 of ,st4 ,giorgio ,maggiore1 on an      
island on the opposite side of the      
harbour1 which is well worth attention  
for the architecture by ,palladio and   
the altar-piece in bronze by ,john of   
,bologna1 containing a number of figures
 7as it appears to me7 of the most      
masterly design and execution4  ,i have 
thus hastily run through what struck me 
as most select in fine art in this      
celebrated city4 ,to enumerate every    
thing would be endless4 ,there are other

 objects for the curious4 ,the ,mosaics 
of the church of ,st4 ,mark1 the ,brazen
 ,horses1 the belfry or ,campanile1 the 
arsenal1 and the theatres1 which are    
wretched both as it relates to the      
actors and the audience4 ,the shops are 
exceedingly neat and well-stocked1 and  
the people gay and spirited4 ,the       
harbour does not present an appearance  
of much traffic4 ,in the times of the   
,republic1 #cj1jjj people are said to   
have slept every night in the vessels in
 the bay4 ,daniell's ,hotel1 at which we
 were1 and to which ,i would recommend  
every ,english traveller1 commands a    
superb view of it1 and the scene        
7particularly by moonlight7 is          
delicious4 ,i heard no music at ,venice1
 neither voice nor lute2 saw no group of
 dancers or maskers1 and the gondolas   
appear to me to resemble hearses more   
than pleasure-boats4 ,i saw the ,rialto1
 which is no longer an ,exchange4 ,the  
,bridge of ,sighs1 of which ,lord ,byron
 speaks1 is not a thoroughfare1 but an  

arch suspended at a considerable height 
over one of the canals1 and connecting  
the ,doge's palace with the prison4     
,,chapter ,,xxiv   ,we left ,venice with
 mingled satisfaction and regret4 ,we   
had to retrace our steps as far as      
,padua1 on our way to ,milan4 ,for four 
days' journey1 from ,padua to ,verona1  
to ,brescia1 to ,treviglio1 to ,milan1  
the whole way was cultivated beauty and 
smiling vegetation4 ,not a rood of land 
lay neglected1 nor did there seem the   
smallest interruption to the bounty of  
nature or the industry of man4 ,the     
constant verdure fatigued the eye1 but  
soothed reflection4 ,for miles before   
you1 behind you1 and on each side1 the  
trailing vines hung over waving         
corn-fields1 or clear streams meandered 
through rich meadow-grounds1 and        
pastures4 ,the olive we had nearly left 
behind us in ,tuscany1 and were not     
sorry to part with its half-mourning    
appearance amidst more luxuriant scenes 
and various foliage4 ,the country is    

quite level1 and the roads quite        
straight for nearly four hundred miles  
that we had travelled after leaving     
,bologna2 and every foot or acre of this
 immense plain is wrought up to a pitch 
of neatness and productiveness1 equal to
 that of a gentleman's kitchen-garden1  
or to the nursery-grounds in the        
neighbourhood of ,london4 ,a gravel-pit 
or a furze-bush by the roadside is a    
relief to the eye4 ,there is no         
perceptible difference in approaching   
the great towns1 though their mounds of 
green earth and the mouldering remains  
of fortifications give an agreeable and 
romantic variety to the scene2 the whole
 of the intermediate space is literally1
 and without any kind of exaggeration1  
one continued and delightful garden4    
,whether this effect is owing to the    
felicity of the soil and climate1 or to 
the art of man1 or to former good       
government1 or to all these combined1 ,i
 shall not here inquire2 but the fact is
 so1 and it is sufficient to put an end 

to the idea that there is neither       
industry nor knowledge of agriculture   
nor plenty out of ,england1 and to the  
common proverbial cant about the sloth  
and apathy of the ,italians1 as if they 
would not lift the food to their mouths1
 or gather the fruits that are drooping 
into them4 ,if the complaints of the    
poverty and wretchedness of ,italy are  
confined to the ,campagna of ,rome1 or  
to some districts of the ,apennines1 ,i 
have nothing to say2 but if a sweeping  
conclusion is drawn from these to ,italy
 in general1 or to the ,north of it in  
particular1 ,i must enter my protest    
against it4 ,such an inference is       
neither philosophical1 nor1 ,i suspect1 
patriotic4 ,the ,english are too apt to 
take every opportunity1 and to seize on 
every pretext for treating the rest of  
the world as wretches--a tone of feeling
 which does not exactly tend to enhance 
our zeal in the cause either of liberty 
or humanity4 ,if people are wretches1   
the next impression is that they deserve

 to be so2 and we are thus prepared to  
lend a helping hand to make them what we
 say they are4 ,the ,northern ,italians 
are as fine a race of people as walk the
 earth2 and all that they want1 to be   
what they once were1 or that any people 
is capable of becoming1 is neither      
,english abuse nor ,english assistance1 
but three words spoken to the other     
powers2 #8,let them alone6' ,but        
,england1 in the dread that others      
should follow her example1 has quite    
forgotten what she herself once was4    
,another idea that the aspect of this   
country and of the country-people       
suggests1 is the fallacy of some of ,mr4
 ,malthus's theories4 ,the soil is here 
cultivated to the greatest possible     
degree1 and yet it seems to lead to no  
extraordinary excess of population4     
,plenty and comfort abound2 but they are
 not accompanied by an appearance of    
proportionable want and misery1 tracking
 them at the heels4 ,the present        
generation of farmers and peasants seem 

well of2 the last1 probably1 were so3   
this circumstance1 therefore1 does not  
appear to have given any overweening    
presumptuous activity1 or headstrong    
impulse to the principle of population1 
nor to have determined those fortunate  
possessors of a land flowing with milk  
and honey1 from an acquaintance with the
 good things of this life1 to throw all 
away at one desperate cast1 and entail  
famine1 disease1 vice1 and misery on    
themselves and their immediate          
descendants4 ,it is not1 however1 my    
intention to enter into politics or     
statistics3 let me1 therefore1 escape   
from them4  ,we reached ,verona the     
second day3 it is delightfully situated4
 ,mr4 ,addison has given a very         
beautiful description of the ,giusti    
gardens which overlook it on one side4  
,they here shew you the tomb of ,juliet3
 it looks like an empty cistern in a    
common court-yard3 you look round1      
however1 and the carved niches with the 
frescoes on the walls convince you that 

you are in the precincts of an ancient  
monastery4 ,the guide also points to the
 part of the wall that ,romeo leaped    
over1 and takes you to the spot in the  
garden where he fell4 ,this gives an air
 of trick and fiction to the whole4 ,the
 tradition is a thousand years old3 it  
is kept up with a tender and pious awe3 
the interest taken in the story of a    
passion faithful to death shews not that
 the feeling is rare1 but common4 ,many 
,italian women have read ,shakspeare's  
tragedy of ,romeo and ,juliet1 admire   
and criticise it with great feeling4    
,what remains of the old monastery is at
 present a ,foundling ,hospital4 ,on    
returning from this spot1 which is      
rather low and gloomy1 we witnessed the 
most brilliant sight we had seen in     
,italy--the sun setting in a flood of   
gold behind the ,alps that overlook the 
lake of ,garda4 ,the ,adige foamed at   
our feet below2 the bank opposite was of
 pure emerald2 the hills which rose     
directly behind it in the most fantastic

 forms were of perfect purple1 and the  
arches of the bridge to the left seemed 
plunged in ebon darkness by the flames  
of light that darted round them4 ,verona
 has a less dilapidated1 pensive air    
than ,ferrara4 ,its streets and squares 
are airy and spacious2 but the buildings
 have a more modern and embellished     
look1 and there is an appearance of     
greater gaiety and fashion among the    
inhabitants4 ,the ,english sometimes    
come here to reside1 though not in such 
crowds as at ,florence1 and things are  
proportionably less dear4 ,the          
,amphitheatre is nearly as fine and     
quite as entire as that at ,rome3 the   
,gate of ,galienas terminates one of the
 principal streets4 ,we met with nothing
 remarkable the rest of the way to      
,milan1 except the same rich1 unvaried  
face of the country2 the distant ,alps  
hanging like a thin film over the       
horizon1 or approaching nearer in lofty1
 solid masses as we advanced2 the lake  
of ,garda embosomed in them1 and the    

fine fortress of ,peschiera buried in   
its almost subterranean fastnesses like 
a mole2 the romantic town of ,virli1    
with a rainbow glittering over its      
verdant groves and hills2 a very bad inn
 at ,brescia1 and a very excellent one  
at ,treviglio4 ,milan was alive and full
 of visitors1 thick as the #8motes that 
people the sun-beam2' it felt the       
presence of its lord4 ,the ,emperor of  
,austria was there6 ,milan 7at least on 
this occasion7 was as gay as ,bath or   
any town in ,england4 ,how times and the
 characters of countries change with    
them6 ,in other parts of ,italy1 as at  
,rome and at ,florence1 the business of 
the inhabitants seemed to be to hide    
themselves1 neither to see nor be seen3 
here it was evidently their object to do
 both4 ,the streets were thronged and in
 motion1 and the promenades full of     
carriages and of elegantly-dressed      
women1 as on a festival or gala-day4 ,i 
think ,i never saw so many well-grown1  
well-made1 good-looking women as at     

,milan4 ,i did not however see one face 
strikingly beautiful1 or with a very    
fine expression4 ,in this respect the   
,romans have the advantage of them4 ,the
 ,north has a tinge of robust barbarism 
in it4 ,their animation was a little    
exuberant2 their look almost amounts to 
a stare1 their walk is a swing1 their   
curiosity is not free from an air of    
defiance4 ,the free and unrestrained    
manners of former periods of ,italy     
appear also to have been driven         
northward1 and to have lingered longer  
on the confines4 ,the ,cathedral or     
,duomo is a splendid fabric of white    
marble3 it is rich1 vast1 and the inside
 solemn and full of a religious awe3 the
 marble is from a quarry on the ,lago   
,maggiore4 ,we also saw the celebrated  
theatre of the ,gran ,scala1 which is of
 an immense size and of extreme beauty1 
but it was not full1 nor was the        
performance striking4 ,the manager is   
the proprietor of the ,cobourg ,theatre 
7,mr4 ,glossop71 and his wife 7formerly 

our ,miss ,fearon7 the favourite singer 
of the ,milanese circles4 ,i inquired   
after the great pantomime ,actress1     
,pallarini1 but found she had retired   
from the stage on a fortune4 ,the name  
of ,vigano was not known to my          
informant4 ,i did not see the great     
picture of the ,last ,supper by         
,leonardo nor the little ,luini1 two    
miles out of ,milan1 which my friend    
,mr4 ,beyle charged me particularly to  
see4  ,we left ,milan1 in a calash or   
small open carriage1 to proceed to the  
,isles ,borromees4 ,the first day it    
rained violently1 and the third day the 
boy drove us wrong1 pretending to       
mistake ,laveno for ,baveno2 so ,i got  
rid of him4 ,we had a delightful morning
 at ,como1 and a fine view of the lake  
and surrounding hills1 which however    
rise too precipitously from the shores  
to be a dwelling-place for any but      
hunters and fishermen4 ,several ,english
 gentlemen as well as rich ,milanese    
have villas on the banks4 ,i had a      

hankering after ,cadenobia2 but the     
,simplon still lay before me4 ,we were  
utterly disappointed in the ,isles      
,borromees4 ,isola ,bella1 belonging to 
the ,marquis ,borromeo1 indeed resembles
 #8a pyramid of sweetmeats ornamented   
with green festoons and flowers4' ,i had
 supposed this to be a heavy ,german    
conceit1 but it is a literal            
description4 ,the pictures in the       
,palace are trash4 ,we were accosted by 
a beggar in an island which contains    
only a palace and an inn4 ,we proceeded 
to the inn at ,baveno1 situated on the  
high road1 close to the lake1 and       
enjoyed for some days the enchanting and
 varied scenery along its banks4 ,the   
abrupt rocky precipices that overhang   
it--the woods that wave in its          
refreshing breeze--the distant          
hills--the gliding sails and level shore
 at the opposite extremity--the jagged  
summits of the mountains that look down 
upon ,palanza and ,feriole1 and the deep
 defiles and snowy passes of the        

,simplon1 every kind of sublimity or    
beauty1 changing every moment with the  
shifting light or point of view from    
which you beheld them4 ,we were tempted 
to stop here for the summer in a suite  
of apartments 7not ill furnished7 that  
command a panoramic view of the lake    
hidden by woods and vineyards from all  
curious eyes1 or in a similar set of    
rooms at ,intra on the other side of the
 lake1 with a garden and the            
conveniences of a market-town1 for six  
guineas for the half year4 ,hear this1  
ye who pine in ,england on limited      
incomes1 and with a taste for the       
picturesque6 ,the temptation was great1 
and may yet prove too strong4 ,we       
wished1 however1 to pass the ,simplon   
first4 ,we proceeded to ,domo d' ,ossola
 for this purpose1 and the next day     
began the ascent4 ,i have already       
attempted to describe the passage of    
,mont ,cenis3 this is said to be finer1 
and ,i believe it2 but it impressed me  
less1 ,i believe owing to circumstances4

 ,the road does not wind its            
inconceivable breathless way down the   
side of the same mountain 7like the     
circumgyrations of an eagle71 gallery   
seeing gallery sunk beneath it1 but     
makes longer reaches1 and passes over   
from one side of the valley to the      
other4 ,the ascent is nearly by the side
 of the brook of the ,simplon for       
several miles1 and you pass along by the
 edge of precipices and by slender      
bridges over mountain-torrents1 under   
huge brown rugged rocks1 hanging over   
the road like mighty masses of ruins or 
castle walls--some bare1 others covered 
with pine-trees to the top2 some too    
steep for any plant to grow on them1    
others displaying spots of verdure1 the 
thatched cottage1 and the winding path  
half-way up1 and dallying with vernal   
flowers and the winter's snow to the    
last moment4 ,the fir generally clothes 
them1 and its spiny form and dark hues  
combine well with their #8star-ypointing
 pyramids1' and ashy paleness4 ,the     

eagle screams over-head1 and the chamois
 looks startled round4 ,half-way up a   
little rugged path 7the pathway of their
 life7 loitered a young peasant and his 
mistress hand in hand1 with some older  
people behind1 following to their       
peaceful humble home--half hid among the
 cliffs and clouds4 ,we passed under one
 or two sounding arches1 and over some  
lofty bridges4 ,at length we reached the
 village of the ,simplon1 and stopped   
there at a most excellent inn1 where we 
had a supper that might vie1 for taste  
and elegance1 with that with which      
,chiffinch entertained ,peveril of the  
,peak and his companion at the little   
inn1 in the wilds of ,derbyshire4 ,the  
next day we proceeded onwards1 and      
passed the commencement of the          
tremendous glacier of the ,flech ,horr4 
,monteroso ascended to the right1       
shrouded in cloud and mist1 at a height 
inaccessible even to the eye4 ,this     
mountain is only a few hundred feet     
lower than ,mont-,blanc1 yet its name is

 hardly known4 ,so a difference of a    
hair's breadth in talent often makes all
 the difference between total obscurity 
and endless renown6 ,we soon after      
passed the barrier1 and found ourselves 
involved in fog and driving sleet upon  
the brink of precipices3 the view was   
hidden1 the road dangerous4 ,on our     
right were drifts of snow left there by 
the avalanches4 ,soon after the mist    
dispersed1 or we had perhaps passed     
below it1 and a fine sunny morning      
disclosed the whole amazing scene above1
 about1 below us4 ,on our right was the 
,swartzenberg1 behind us the ,simplon1  
on our left the ,flech ,horr1 and the   
pointed ,clise-,horn--opposite was the  
,yung-,frow1 and the distant mountains  
of the lake of ,geneva rose between1    
circled with wreaths of mist and        
sunshine3 stately fir-trees measured the
 abrupt descent at our side1 or the     
sound of dimly-seen cataracts2 and in an
 opening below1 seen through the steep  
chasm under our feet1 lay the village of

 ,brigg 7as in a map7 still half a day's
 journey distant4 ,we wound round the   
valley at the other extremity of it3 the
 road on the opposite side1 which we    
could plainly distinguish1 seemed almost
 on the level ground1 and when we       
reached it we found a still greater     
depth below us4 ,villages1 cottages1    
flocks of sheep in the valley           
underneath1 now came in sight1 and made 
the eye giddy to look at them3 huge     
cedars by the road-side were interposed 
between us and the rocks and mountains  
opposite1 and threw them into half-tint2
 and the height above our heads1 and    
that beneath our feet1 by being         
perceptibly joined together1 doubled the
 elevation of the objects4 ,mountains   
seem highest either when you are at     
their very summits and look down on the 
world1 or when you are midway up1 and   
the eye takes in the measure of their   
height at two distinct stages4 ,i think 
the finest part of the descent of the   
,simplon is about four or five miles    

before you come to ,brigg4 ,the valley  
is here narrow1 and affords prodigious  
contrasts of wood and rock1 of hill and 
vale1 of sheltered beauty and of savage 
grandeur4 ,the red perpendicular chasm  
in the rock at the foot of the          
,clise-,horn is tremendous2 the look    
back to the snow-clad ,swartzenberg that
 you have left behind is no less so4 ,i 
grant the ,simplon has the advantage of 
,mont ,cenis in variety and beauty and  
in sudden and terrific contrasts1 but it
 has not the same simple expansive      
grandeur1 blending and growing into one 
vast accumulated impression2 nor is the 
descent of the same whirling and giddy  
character1 as if you were hurried1 stage
 after stage1 and from one yawning depth
 to another1 into the regions of        
#8,chaos and old ,night4' ,the ,simplon 
presents more picturesque points of     
view2 ,mont ,cenis makes a stronger     
impression on the imagination4 ,i am not
 prejudiced in favour of one or the     
other2 the road over each was raised by 

the same master-hand4 ,after a jaunt    
like this through the air1 it was       
requisite to pause some time at the     
hospitable inn at ,brigg to recover4 ,it
 only remains for me to describe the    
lake of ,geneva and ,mont ,blanc4       
,,chapter ,,xxv   ,we left the inn at   
,brigg1 after having stopped there above
 a week1 and proceeded on our way to    
,vevey1 which had always been an        
interesting point in the horizon1 and a 
resting-place to the imagination4 ,in   
travelling1 we visit names as well as   
places2 and ,vevey is the scene of the  
,new ,eloise4 ,in spite of ,mr4 ,burke's
 philippic against this performance1 the
 contempt of the ,lake ,school1 and ,mr4
 ,moore's late ,rhymes on the ,road1 ,i 
had still some overmastering            
recollections on that subject1 which ,i 
proposed to indulge at my leisure on the
 spot which was supposed to give them   
birth1 and which ,i accordingly did4 ,i 
did not1 on a re-perusal1 find my once  
favourite work quite so vapid1 quite so 

void of eloquence or sentiment as some  
critics 7it is true1 not much beholden  
to it7 would insinuate4 ,the following  
passage1 among others1 seemed to me the 
perfection of style3--#8,mais vois la   
rapidit de cet astre1 qui vole et ne    
s'arrte jamais2 le tems fuit1 l'occasion
 chappe1 ta beaut1 ta beaut mme aura son
 terme1 elle doit fltrir et prir un jour
 comme un fleur qui tombe sans avoir t  
cueilli6' ,what a difference between the
 sound of this passage and of ,mr4      
,moore's verse or prose6 ,nay1 there is 
more imagination in the single epithet  
astre1 applied as it is here to this    
brilliant and fleeting scene of things1 
than in all our fashionable poet's      
writings6 ,at least ,i thought so1      
reading ,st4 ,preux's ,letter in the    
wood near ,clarens1 and stealing        
occasional glances at the lake and rocks
 of ,meillerie4 ,but ,i am anticipating4
  ,the mountains on either side of the  
,valley of the ,simplon present a gloomy
 succession of cliffs1 often covered    

with snow1 and contrasting by no means  
agreeably with the marshy grounds below1
 through which the ,rhone wanders scarce
 noticed1 scarce credited4 ,it is of a  
whitish muddy colour 7from the snow and 
sand mingled with its course1 very much 
as if had been poured out of a          
washing-tub71 and very different from   
the deep purple tint it assumes on      
oozing out from the other side of the   
,lake1 after having drank its cerulean  
waters4 ,the woods near the lofty peaks 
of the ,clise-,horn1 and bordering on   
,monteroso1 are said to be still the    
frequent haunt of bears1 though a price 
is set upon their heads4 ,as we advanced
 farther on beyond ,tortomania1 the     
whole breadth of the valley was         
sometimes covered with pine-forests1    
which gave a relief to the eye1 and     
afforded scope to the imagination4 ,the 
fault of mountain scenery in general is1
 that it is too barren and naked1 and   
that the whole is exposed in enormous   
and unvarying masses to the view at     

once4 ,the clothing of trees is no less 
wanted as an ornament than partially to 
conceal objects1 and thus present       
occasional new points of view4 ,without 
something to intercept and break the    
aggregate extent of surface1 you gain no
 advantage by change of place2 the same 
elevation and ground-plan of hill and   
valley are still before you--you might  
as well carry a map or landscape in your
 hand4 ,in this part of our journey1    
however1 besides the natural wildness   
and grandeur of the scenery1 the road   
was rough and uneven1 and frequently    
crossed rude bridges over the ,rhone1 or
 over rivulets pouring into it3 the     
gloomy recesses of the forests might be 
the abode of wild beasts or of the      
lurking robber4 ,the huge fragments of  
rock that had tumbled from the          
overhanging precipices often made a     
turning in the road necessary1 and for a
 moment interrupted the view beyond2 the
 towns1 built on the sides of the hills1
 resembled shattered heaps of rock1     

scarcely distinguishable from the grey  
peaks and crags with which they were    
surrounded1 giving an agreeable play to 
the fancy2 while the snowy tops of the  
,simplon mountains1 now coming in sight1
 now hidden behind the nearer summits1  
threw us back to the scenes we had left1
 and measured the distance we had       
traversed4 ,the way in which these      
mighty landmarks of the ,alpine regions 
ascertain this point is1 however1       
contrary to the usual one3 for it is by 
appearing plainer1 the farther you      
retire from them4 ,they tower with airy 
shape and dazzling whiteness above the  
lengthening perspective2 and it is the  
intervening objects that dwindle in the 
comparison1 and are lost sight of in    
succession4 ,in the midst of the most   
lonely and singular part of this scene1 
just as we passed a loose bridge of     
rough fir-planks over a brawling brook1 
and as a storm seemed to threaten us1 we
 met a party of ,english gentlemen in an
 open carriage1 though their courteous  

looks and waving salutation almost      
#8forbade us to interpret them such4'   
,certainly there is no people in whom   
urbanity is more a duty than the        
,english2 for there is no people that   
feel it more4 ,travelling confounds our 
ideas1 not of place only1 but of time2  
and ,i could not help making a sudden   
transition from the party we had by     
chance encountered to the ,chevalier    
,grandison and his friends1 paying their
 last visit to ,bologna4 ,pshaw6 ,why do
 ,i indulge in such idle fancies8 ,yet  
why in truth should ,i not1 when ,i am a
 thousand miles from home1 and when     
every object one meets is like a dream8 
,passe pour cela4  ,we reached ,sion    
that evening4 ,it is one of the dirtiest
 and least comfortable towns on the     
road2 nor does the chief inn deserve the
 epithet so applicable to ,swiss inns in
 general--simplex munditiis4 ,it was    
here that ,rousseau1 in one of his early
 peregrinations1 was recommended by his 
landlord to an iron-foundry in the      

neighbourhood 7the smoke of which1 ,i   
believe1 we saw at a little distance71  
where he would be likely to procure     
employment1 mistaking #8the pauper lad' 
for a journeyman blacksmith4 ,perhaps   
the author of the ,rhymes on the ,road  
will think it a pity he did not embrace 
this proposal1 instead of forging       
thunderbolts for kingly crowns4 ,alas6  
,mr4 ,moore would then never have had to
 write his #8,fables for the ,holy      
,alliance4' ,haunted by some indistinct 
recollection of this adventure1 ,i asked
 at the ,inn1 #8,if ,jean ,jacques      
,rousseau had ever resided in the town8'
 ,the waiter himself could not tell1 but
 soon after brought back for answer1    
#8,that ,monsieur ,rousseau had never   
lived there1 but that he had passed     
through about fourteen years before on  
his way to ,italy1 when he had only time
 to stop to take tea6'--,was this a mere
 stupid blunder1 or one of the          
refractions of fame1 founded on his     
mission as ,secretary to the ,venetian  

,ambassador a hundred years before8     
,there is a tradition in the            
neighbourhood of ,milton's house in     
,york-street1 ,westminster1 that #8one  
,mr4 ,milford1 a celebrated poet1       
formerly lived there6' ,we set forward  
the next morning on our way to          
,martigny1 through the most dreary      
valley possible1 and in an absolute     
straight line for twelve or fifteen     
miles of level road1 which was          
terminated by the village-spire and by  
the hills leading to the ,great ,st4    
,bernard and ,mont-,blanc4 ,the wind    
poured down from these tremendous hills1
 and blew with unabated fury in our     
faces the whole way4 ,it was a most     
unpleasant ride1 nor did the            
accommodations at the inn 7the ,swan1 ,i
 think7 make us amends4 ,the rooms were 
cold and empty4 ,it might be supposed   
that the desolation without had subdued 
the imagination to its own hue and      
quality1 so that it rejected all        
attempts at improvement2 that the more  

niggard ,nature had been to it1 the more
 churlish it became to itself2 and      
through habit1 neither felt the want of 
comforts nor a wish to supply others    
with them4 ,close to the bridge stands a
 steep rock with a castle at the top of 
it 7attributed to the times of the      
,romans74 ,at a distance it was hardly  
discernible2 and afterwards1 when we    
crossed over to ,chamouni1 we saw it    
miles below us like a dove-cot1 or a    
dirt-pye raised by children4 ,yet viewed
 from beneath1 it seemed to present an  
imposing and formidable attitude1 and to
 elevate its pigmy front in a line with 
the stately heights around4 ,so ,mr4    
,washington ,irvine binds up his own    
portrait with ,goldsmith's in the ,paris
 edition of his works1 and to many      
people seems the genteeler man6 ,from   
the definite and dwarfish1 we turned to 
the snow-clad and cloud-capt2 and       
strolled to the other side of the       
village1 where the road parts to ,st4   
,bernard and ,chamouni1 anxiously gazing

 at the steep pathway on either side1   
and half tempted to launch into that    
billowy sea of mist and mountain3 but we
 reserved this for a subsequent period4 
,as we were loitering at the foot of the
 dizzy ascent1 our postilion1 who had   
staid behind us a couple of hours the   
day before to play at bowls1 now drove  
on half an hour before his time1 and    
when we turned a corner which gave us a 
view of our inn1 no cabriolet was there4
 ,he1 however1 soon found his mistake1  
and turned back to meet us4 ,the only   
picturesque objects between this and    
,bex are a waterfall about two hundred  
feet in height1 issuing through the     
cavities of the mountain from the       
immense glacier in the valley of ,trie1 
and the romantic bridge of ,st4         
,maurice1 the boundary between ,savoy   
and the ,pays de ,vaud4 ,on the ledge of
 a rocky precipice1 as you approach ,st4
 ,maurice1 stands a hermitage in full   
view of the road2 and possibly the      
inmate consoles himself in his voluntary

 retreat by watching the carriages as   
they come in sight1 and fancying that   
the driver is pointing out his arial    
dwelling to the inquisitive and         
wondering traveller6 ,if a man could    
transport himself to one of the fixed   
stars1 so far from being lifted above   
this sublunary sphere1 he would still   
wish his fellow-mortals to point to it  
as his particular abode1 and the scene  
of his marvellous adventures4 ,we go    
into a crowd to be seen3 we go into     
solitude that we may be distinguished   
from the crowd1 and talked of4 ,we      
travel into foreign parts to get the    
start of those who stay behind us2 we   
return home to hear what has been said  
of us in our absence4 ,lord ,byron      
mounted on his pedestal of pride on the 
shores of the ,adriatic1 as ,mr4        
,hobhouse rides in the car of popularity
 through the streets of ,westminster4   
,the one object could be seen at a      
distance2 the other1 whose mind is more 
,sancho-,panza-ish and pug-featured1    

requires to be brought nearer to the eye
 for stage-effect6 ,bex itself is       
delicious4 ,it stands in a little nook  
of quiet1 almost out of the world1      
nestling in rural beauty1 in mountain   
sublimity4 ,there is an excellent inn1 a
 country church before it1 a large ash  
tree1 a circulating library1 a rookery1 
every thing useful and comfortable for  
the life of man4 ,behind1 there is a    
ridge of dark rocks2 beyond them tall   
and bare mountains--and a higher range  
still appears through rolling clouds and
 circling mists4 ,our reception at the  
inn was every way what we could wish1   
and we were half disposed to stop here  
for some months4 ,but something         
whispered me on to ,vevey3--this we     
reached the next day in a drizzling     
shower of rain1 which prevented our     
seeing much of the country1 excepting   
the black masses of rock and pine-trees 
that rose perpendicularly from the      
roadside4 ,the day after my arrival1 ,i 
found a lodging at a farm-house1 a mile 

out of ,vevey1 so #8lapped in luxury1'  
so retired1 so reasonable1 and in every 
respect convenient1 that we remained    
here for the rest of the summer1 and    
felt no small regret at leaving it4     
,the country round ,vevey is1 ,i must   
nevertheless own1 the least picturesque 
part of the borders of the ,lake of     
,geneva4 ,i wonder ,rousseau1 who was a 
good judge and an admirable describer of
 romantic situations1 should have fixed 
upon it as the scene of the #8,new      
,eloise4' ,you have passed the rocky and
 precipitous defiles at the entrance    
into the valley1 and have not yet come  
into the open and more agreeable parts  
of it4 ,the immediate vicinity of ,vevey
 is entirely occupied with vineyards    
slanting to the south1 and inclosed     
between stone-walls without any kind of 
variety or relief4 ,the walks are uneven
 and bad1 and you in general see little 
7for the walls on each side of you7 but 
the glassy surface of the ,lake1 the    
rocky barrier of the ,savoy ,alps       

opposite 7one of them crowned all the   
year round with snow1 and which1 though 
it is twenty miles off1 seems as if you 
could touch it with your hand1 so       
completely does size neutralize the     
effect of distance71 the green hills of 
an inferior class over ,clarens1 with   
the ,dent de ,jamant sticking out of    
them like an iron tooth1 and the winding
 valley leading northward towards ,berne
 and ,fribourg4 ,here stands ,gelamont  
7the name of the ,campagna which we     
took71 on a bank sloping down to the    
brook that passes by ,vevey1 and so     
entirely embosomed in trees and #8upland
 swells1' that it might be called1 in   
poetical phrase1 #8the peasant's nest4' 
,here every thing was perfectly clean   
and commodious4 ,the fermier or         
vineyard-keeper1 with his family1 lived 
below1 and we had six or seven rooms on 
a floor 7furnished with every article or
 convenience that a ,london lodging     
affords7 for thirty ,napoleons for four 
months1 or about thirty shillings a     

week4 ,this first expense we found the  
greatest during our stay1 and nearly    
equal to all the rest1 that of a servant
 included4 ,the number of ,english      
settled here had made lodgings dear1 and
 an ,english gentleman told me he was   
acquainted with not less than           
three-and-twenty ,english families in   
the neighbourhood4 ,to give those who   
may feel an inclination to try foreign  
air1 an idea of the comparative         
cheapness of living abroad1 ,i will     
mention that mutton 7equal to the best  
,welch mutton1 and fed on the high      
grounds near ,moudon7 is two batz1 that 
is1 threepence ,english per pound2 and  
the beef 7which is also good1 though not
 of so fine a quality7 is the same4     
,trout1 caught in the ,lake1 you get    
almost for nothing4 ,a couple of fowls  
is eighteen-pence4 ,the wine of the     
country1 which though not rich1 is      
exceedingly palatable1 is three pence a 
bottle4 ,you may have a basket of grapes
 in the season for one shilling or      

fifteen pence4#dh ,the bread1 butter and
 milk are equally cheap and excellent4  
,they have not the art here of          
adulterating every thing4 ,you find the 
same things as in ,england1 served up in
 the same plain and decent manner1 but  
in greater plenty1 and generally        
speaking1 of a better and more wholesome
 quality1 and at least twice as cheap4  
,in ,england they have few things1 and  
they contrive to spoil those few4 ,there
 is a good deal of ill-nature and       
churlishness1 as well as a narrow policy
 in this4 ,the trading principle seems  
to be to give you the worst1 and make   
you pay as dear for it as possible4 ,it 
is a vile principle4 ,as soon as you    
land at ,dover1 you feel the force of   
this home truth4 ,they cheat you to your
 face1 and laugh at you4 ,i must say1   
that it appears to me1 whatever may be  
the faults or vices of other nations1   
the ,english population is the only one 
to which the epithet blackguard is      
applicable4 ,they are1 in a word1 the   

only people who make a merit of giving  
others pain1 and triumph in their       
impudence and ill-behaviour1 as proofs  
of a manly and independent spirit4      
,afraid that you may complain of the    
absence of foreign luxuries1 they are   
determined to let you understand        
beforehand1 they do not care about what 
you may think1 and wanting the art to   
please1 resort to the easier and surer  
way of keeping up their importance by   
practising every kind of annoyance4     
,instead of their being at your mercy1  
you find yourself at theirs1 subjected  
to the sullen airs of the masters1 and  
to the impertinent fatuity of the       
waiters4 ,they dissipate your theory of 
,english comfort and hospitality at the 
threshold4 ,what do they care that you  
have cherished a fond hope of getting a 
nice1 snug little dinner on your        
arrival1 better than any you have had in
 ,france8 #8,the ,french may be d----1' 
is the answer that passes through their 
minds--#8the dinner is good enough1 if  

it is ,english6' ,let us take care1 that
 by assuming an insolent local          
superiority over all the world1 we do   
not sink below them in every thing1     
liberty not excepted4 ,while the name of
 any thing passes current1 we may       
dispense with the reality1 and keep the 
start of the rest of mankind1 simply by 
asserting that we have it1 and treating 
all foreigners as a set of poor         
wretches1 who neither know how1 nor are 
in truth fit to live6 ,against this     
post1 alas6 ,john ,bull is continually  
running his head1 but as yet without    
knocking his brains out4 ,the beef-steak
 which you order at ,dover with         
patriotic tender yearnings for its      
reputation1 is accordingly filled with  
cinders--the mutton is done to a        
rag--the soup not eatable--the porter   
sour--the bread gritty--the butter      
rancid4 ,game1 poultry1 grapes1 wine it 
is in vain to think of2 and as you may  
be mortified at the privation1 they     
punish you for your unreasonable        

dissatisfaction by giving you cause for 
it in the mismanagement of what         
remains4#di ,in the midst of this ill   
fare you meet with equally bad          
treatment4 ,while you are trying to     
digest a tough beef-steak1 a fellow     
comes in and peremptorily demands your  
fare1 on the assurance that you will get
 your baggage from the clutches of the  
,custom-house in time to go by the six  
o'clock coach2 and when you find that   
this is impossible1 and that you are to 
be trundled off at two in the morning1  
or by the next day's coach1 if it is not
 full1 and complain to that             
personification of blind justice1 an    
,english mob1 you hear the arch slang   
reply1 #8,do you think the ,gentleman   
such a fool as to part with his money   
without knowing why8' and should the    
natural rejoinder rise to your          
lips--#8,do you take me for a fool1     
because ,i did not take you for a       
rogue8' the defendant immediately stands
 at bay upon the national character for 

honesty and morality4 #8,i hope there   
are no rogues here6' is echoed through  
the dense atmosphere of ,english        
intellect1 though but the moment before 
they had been laughing in their sleeves 
7or out loud7 at the idea of a stranger 
having been tricked by a townsman4      
,happy country6 equally and stupidly    
satisfied with its vulgar vices and     
boasted virtues6                 #8,oh6 
for a lodge in some vast wilderness1    
,some boundless continuity of shade6'   
,yet to what purpose utter such a wish1 
since it is impossible to stay there1   
and the moment you are separated from   
your fellows1 you think better of them1 
begin to form chimeras with which you   
would fain compare the realities1 find  
them the same as ever to your cost and  
shame--               #8,and            
disappointed still1 are still deceived6'
  ,i found little of this tracasserie at
 ,gelamont4 ,days1 weeks1 months1 and   
even years might have passed on much in 
the same manner1 with #8but the season's

 difference4' ,we breakfasted at the    
same hour1 and the tea-kettle was always
 boiling 7an excellent thing in         
housewifery7--a lounge in the orchard   
for an hour or two1 and twice a week we 
could see the steam-boat creeping like a
 spider over the surface of the lake2 a 
volume of the ,scotch novels 7to be had 
in every library on the ,continent1 in  
,english1 ,french1 ,german1 or ,italian1
 as the reader pleases71 or ,m4         
,galignani's ,paris and ,london         
,observer1 amused us till dinner time2  
then tea and a walk till the moon       
unveiled itself1 #8apparent queen of    
night1' or the brook1 swoln with a      
transient shower1 was heard more        
distinctly in the darkness1 mingling    
with the soft1 rustling breeze2 and the 
next morning the song of peasants broke 
upon refreshing sleep1 as the sun       
glanced among the clustering            
vine-leaves1 or the shadowy hills1 as   
the mists retired from their summits1   
looked in at our windows4 ,the          

uniformity of this mode of life was only
 broken during fifteen weeks that we    
remained in ,switzerland1 by the        
civilities of ,monsieur ,le ,vade1 a    
,doctor of medicine and octogenarian1   
who had been personally acquainted with 
,rousseau in his younger days2 by some  
attempts by our neighbours to lay us    
under obligations1 by parting with rare 
curiosities to ,monsieur l',anglois for 
half their value2 and by an excursion to
 ,chamouni1 of which ,i must defer the  
account to my next4                     
,,chapter ,,xxvi   ,we crossed over in a
 boat to ,st4 ,gingolph1 a little town  
opposite to ,vevey1 and proceeded on the
 other side of the lake to ,martigny1   
from which we could pass over either on 
foot or by the help of mules to         
,mont-,blanc4 ,it was a warm day towards
 the latter end of ,august1 and the     
hills before us drew their clear        
outline1 and the more distant ,alps     
waved their snowy tops 7tinged with     
golden sunshine7 in the                 

gently-undulating surface of the crystal
 lake4 ,as we approached the ,savoy     
side1 the mountains in front1 which from
 ,vevey look like a huge battery or flat
 upright wall1 opened into woody        
recesses1 or reared their crests on     
high2 rich streaks of the most exquisite
 verdure gleamed at their feet1 and ,st4
 ,gingolph came distinctly in view1 with
 its dingy-looking houses and smoking   
chimneys4 ,it is a small manufacturing  
town1 full of forges and workshops1 and 
the inn is dirty and disagreeable4 ,the 
contrast to ,vevey was striking4 ,but   
this side of the lake is in the         
dominions of the ,king of ,sardinia1 and
 cleanliness seems to be in general the 
virtue of republics1 or of free states4 
,there is an air of desolation1         
sluttishness1 and indifference1 the     
instant you cross the water1 compared   
with the neatness1 activity1 regularity1
 and cheerfulness of the ,pays de ,vaud4
 ,we walked out to take a view of the   
situation1 as soon as we had bespoken   

our room and a supper4 ,it was a        
brilliant sunset2 nor do ,i recollect   
having ever beheld so majestic and rich 
a scene1 set off to such advantage4 ,a  
steep pathway led to a village embayed  
between two mountains1 whose tops       
towered into the sky3 conical hills rose
 to about half their height1 covered    
with green copses3 fields and cottages  
were seen climbing as it were the sides 
of others1 with cattle feeding2 the huge
 projecting rocks gave new combinations 
and a new aspect to the most picturesque
 objects2 tall branching trees 7ash1 or 
beech1 or chesnut7 hung from green      
sloping banks over the road-side1 or    
dipped their foliage in the transparent 
wave below3 their bold luxuriant forms  
threw the rocks and mountains into finer
 relief1 and elevated them into a higher
 atmosphere1 so that they seemed        
trembling 7another airy world7 over our 
heads4 ,the lake shone like a broad     
golden mirror1 reflecting the thousand  
dyes of the fleecy purple clouds1 while 

,saint ,gingolph1 with its clustering   
habitations1 shewed like a dark pitchy  
spot by its side2 and beyond the        
glimmering verge of the ,jura 7almost   
hid in its own brightness7 hovered gay  
wreaths of clouds1 fair1 lovely1        
visionary1 that seemed not of this      
world1 but brought from some dream of   
fancy1 treasured up from past years1    
emblems of hope1 of joy and smiling     
regret1 that had come to grace a scene  
so heavenly1 and to bid it a last1      
lingering farewell4 ,no person can      
describe the effect2 but so in ,claude's
 landscapes the evening clouds drink up 
the rosy light1 and sink into soft      
repose6 ,every one who travels into     
,switzerland should visit this secluded 
spot1 and witness such a sunset1 with   
the heaven stooping its face into the   
lake on one side1 and the mountains1    
rocks1 and woods1 lifting earth to      
heaven on the other4 ,we had no power to
 leave it or to admire it1 till the     
evening shades stole in upon us1 and    

drew the dusky veil of twilight over it4
  ,we had a pleasant walk the next      
morning along the side of the lake under
 the grey cliffs1 the green hills and   
azure sky2 now passing under the open   
gateway of some dilapidated watch-tower 
that had in former times connected the  
rocky barrier with the water1 now       
watching the sails of a boat slowly     
making its way among the trees on the   
banks of the ,rhone1 like butterflies   
expanding their wings in the breeze1 or 
the snowy ridges that seemed close to us
 at ,vevey receding farther into a kind 
of lofty back-ground as we advanced4    
,the speculation of ,bishop ,berkeley1  
or some other philosopher1 that distance
 is measured by motion and not by the   
sight1 is verified here at every step4  
,after going on for hours1 and          
perceiving no alteration in the form or 
appearance of the object before you1 you
 begin to be convinced that it is out of
 ordinary calculation1 or1 in the       
language of the ,fancy1 an #8ugly       

customer2' and our curiosity once       
excited1 is ready to magnify every      
circumstance relating to it to an       
indefinite extent4 ,the literal         
impression being discarded as           
insufficient1 the imagination takes out 
an unlimited letter of credit for all   
that is possible or wonderful1 and what 
the eye sees is considered thenceforward
 merely as an imperfect hint1 to be     
amplified and filled up on a colossal   
scale by the understanding and rules of 
proportion4 ,to say the truth1 you also 
suffer a change1 feel like              
,lilliputians1 and can fancy yourselves 
transported to a different world1 where 
the dimensions and relations of things  
are regulated by some unknown law4 ,the 
inn where we stopped at ,vionnax is bad4
 ,beyond this place1 the hills at the   
eastern end of the lake form into an    
irregular and stupendous amphitheatre2  
and you pass through long and apparently
 endless vistas of tall flourishing     
trees1 without being conscious of making

 much progress4 ,there is a             
glass-manufactory at ,vionnax1 which ,i 
did not go to see2 others who have more 
curiosity may4 ,it will be there 7,i    
dare say7 next year for those who choose
 to visit it3 ,i liked neither its glare
 nor its heat4 ,the cold icy crags that 
hang suspended over it have been there a
 thousand years1 and will be there a    
thousand years to come4 ,short-lived as 
we are1 let us attach ourselves to the  
immortal1 and scale 7assisted by earth's
 giant brood7 the empyrean of pure      
thought6 ,but the ,english abroad turn  
out of their way to see every           
pettifogging1 huckstering object that   
they could see better at home1 and are  
as fussy and fidgetty1 with their       
smoke-jacks and mechanical inventions   
among the ,alps1 as if they had brought 
,manchester and ,sheffield in their     
pockets6 ,the finest effect along this  
road is the view of the bridge as you   
come near ,st4 ,maurice4 ,the mountains 
on either side here descend nearly to a 

point1 boldly and abruptly2 the river   
flows rapidly through the tall arch of  
the bridge1 on one side of which you see
 an old fantastic turret1 and beyond it 
the hill called the ,sugar-loaf1 rising 
up in the centre of immense ranges of   
mountains1 and with fertile and         
variously-marked plains stretching out  
in the intervening space4 ,the landscape
 painter has only to go there1 and make 
a picture of it4 ,it is already framed  
by nature to his hand6 ,i mention this  
the more1 because that kind of grouping 
of objects which is essential to the    
picturesque1 is not always to be found  
in the most sublime or even beautiful   
scenes4 ,nature 7so to speak7 uses a    
larger canvass than man1 and where she  
is greatest and most prodigal of her    
wealth1 often neglects that principle of
 concentration and contrast which is an 
indispensable preliminary before she can
 be translated with effect into the     
circumscribed language of art4 ,we      
supped at ,martigny1 at the ,hotel de la

 ,poste 7formerly a convent71 and the   
next morning proceeded by the ,valley of
 ,trie and the ,col de ,peaume to       
,chamouni4  ,we left the great ,st4     
,bernard1 and the road by which         
,buonaparte passed to ,marengo1 on our  
left1 and ,martigny and the ,valley of  
the ,simplon directly behind us4 ,these 
last were also soon at an immeasurable  
depth below us2 but the summits of the  
mountains that environed us on all      
sides1 seemed to ascend with us1 and to 
add our elevation to their own4 ,crags1 
of which we could only before discern   
the jutting tops1 gradually reared their
 full stature at our side2 and icy      
masses1 one by one1 came in sight1      
emerging from their lofty recesses1 like
 clouds floating in mid-air4 ,all this  
while a green valley kept us company by 
the road-side1 watered with gushing     
rills1 interspersed with cottages and   
well-stocked farms3 fine elms and ash   
grew on the sides of the hills1 under   
the shade of one of which we saw an old 

peasant asleep4 ,the road1 however1 was 
long1 rough1 and steep2 and from the    
heat of the sun1 and the continual      
interruption of loose stones and the    
straggling roots of trees1 ,i felt      
myself exceedingly exhausted4 ,we had a 
mule1 a driver1 and a guide4 ,i was     
advised1 by all means1 to lessen the    
fatigue of the ascent by taking hold of 
the queue of ,monsieur le ,mulet1 a mode
 of travelling partaking as little of   
the sublime as possible1 and to which ,i
 reluctantly acceded4 ,we at last       
reached the top1 and looked down on the 
,valley of ,trie1 bedded in rocks1 with 
a few wooden huts in it1 a              
mountain-stream traversing it from the  
,glacier at one end1 and with an        
appearance as if summer could never gain
 a footing there1 before it would be    
driven out by winter4 ,in the midst of  
this almost inaccessible and desolate   
spot1 we found a little inn or booth1   
with refreshments of wine1 bread1 and   
fruit1 and a whole drove of ,english    

travellers1 mounted or on foot4         
#8,nor ,alps nor ,apennines can keep    
them out1                ,nor fortified 
redoubt6'  ,as we mounted the steep wood
 on the other side of the valley1 we met
 several mules returning1 with their    
drivers only1 and looking extremely     
picturesque1 as they were perched above 
our heads among the jagged pine-trees1  
and cautiously felt their perilous way  
over the edges of projecting rocks and  
stumps of trees1 down the zigzag        
pathway4 ,the view here is precipitous1 
extensive1 and truly appalling1 both    
from the size of the objects and their  
rugged wildness4 ,the smell of the      
pine-trees1 the clear air1 and the      
golden sunshine gleaming through the    
dark foliage refreshed me2 and the      
fatigue from which ,i had suffered in   
the morning completely wore off4 ,i had 
concluded that when we got to the top of
 the wood that hung over our heads1 we  
should have mastered our difficulties2  
but they only then began4 ,we emerged   

into a barren heath or morass of a most 
toilsome ascent1 lengthening as we      
advanced1 with herds of swine1 sheep1   
and cattle feeding on it1 and a bed of  
half-melted snow marking the summit over
 which we had to pass4 ,we turned aside1
 half-way up this dreary wilderness1 to 
stop at a chalet1 where a boy1 who      
tended the straggling cattle1 was fast  
asleep in the middle of the day2 and    
being waked up1 procured us a draught of
 most delicious water from a fountain4  
,we at length reached the ,col de       
,peaume1 and saw ,mont ,blanc1 the ,king
 of ,mountains1 stretching away to the  
left1 with clouds circling round its    
sides1 and snows forever resting on its 
head4 ,it was an image of immensity and 
eternity4 ,earth had heaved it from its 
bosom2 the #8vast cerulean' had touched 
it with its breath4 ,it was a meeting of
 earth and sky4 ,other peaked cliffs    
rose perpendicularly by its side1 and a 
range of rocks1 of red granite1 fronted 
it to the north2 but ,mont-,blanc itself

 was round1 bald1 shining1 ample1 and   
equal in its swelling proportions--a    
huge dumb heap of matter4 ,the valley   
below was bare1 without an object--no   
ornament1 no contrast to set it off--it 
reposed in silence and in solitude1 a   
world within itself4                    
#8,retire1 the world shut out1 thy      
thoughts call home4'  ,there is an end  
here of vanity and littleness1 and all  
transitory jarring interests4 ,you      
stand1 as it were1 in the presence of   
the ,spirit of the ,universe1 before the
 majesty of ,nature1 with her chief     
elements about you2 cloud and air1 and  
rock1 and stream1 and mountain are      
brought into immediate contact with     
primeval ,chaos and the great ,first    
,cause4 ,the mind hovers over mysteries 
deeper than the abysses at our feet2 its
 speculations soar to a height beyond   
the visible forms it sees around it4 ,as
 we descended the path on foot 7for our 
muleteer was obliged to return at the   
barrier between the two states of ,savoy

 and ,switzerland marked by a solitary  
unhewn stone17 we saw before us the     
shingled roofs of a hamlet1 situated on 
a patch of verdure near inaccessible    
columns of granite1 and could hear the  
tinkling bells of a number of cattle    
pasturing below 7an image of patriarchal
 times67--we also met one or two        
peasants returning home with loads of   
fern1 and still farther down1 found the 
ripe harvests of wheat and barley       
growing close up to the feet of the     
glaciers 7those huge masses of ice      
arrested in their passage from the      
mountains1 and collected by a thousand  
winters17 and the violet and gilliflower
 nestling in the cliffs of the hardest  
rocks4 ,there are four of these         
glaciers1 that pour their solid floods  
into the valley1 with rivulets issuing  
from them into the ,arbe4 ,the one next 
to ,chamouni is1 ,i think1 the finest4  
,it faces you like a broad sheet of     
congealed snow and water about half-way 
up the lofty precipice1 and then spreads

 out its arms on each side into seeming 
batteries and fortifications of         
undistinguishable rock and ice1 as      
though winter had here #8built a        
fortress for itself1' seated in stern   
state1 and amidst frowning horrors4 ,as 
we advanced into the plain1 and before  
it became dusk1 we could discern at a   
distance the dark wood that skirts the  
glaciers of ,mont-,blanc1 the spire of  
,chamouni1 and the bridges that cross   
the stream4 ,we also discovered1 a      
little way on before us1 stragglers on  
mules1 and a cabriolet1 that was        
returning from the valley of ,trie1 by  
taking a more circuitous route4 ,as the 
day closed in and was followed by the   
moonlight1 the mountains on our right   
hung over us like a dark pall1 and the  
glaciers gleamed like gigantic shrouds  
opposite4 ,we might have fancied        
ourselves inclosed in a vast tomb1 but  
for the sounding cataracts and the light
 clouds that flitted over our heads4 ,we
 arrived at ,chamouni at last1 and found

 the three inns crowded with ,english4  
,the entrance to that to which we had   
been recommended1 or rather were        
conducted by our guide 7the ,hotel de   
,londres17 was besieged by ,english     
loungers1 like a bazaar1 or an hotel at 
some fashionable watering-place1 and we 
were glad to secure a small but         
comfortable room for the night4  ,we had
 an excellent supper1 the materials of  
which we understood came from ,geneva4  
,we proceeded the next morning to       
,saleges1 on our way to this capital4   
,if the entrance to the valley of       
,chamouni is grand and simple1 the route
 from it towards ,geneva unites the     
picturesque to the sublime in the most  
remarkable degree4 ,for two or three    
miles you pass along under ,mont-,blanc1
 looking up at it with awe and wonder1  
derived from a knowledge of its height4 
,the interest1 the pleasure you take in 
it is from conviction and reflection2   
but turn a corner in the road at a      
homely village and a little bridge1 and 

it shoots up into the sky of its own    
accord1 like a fantastic vision4 ,its   
height is incredible1 its brightness    
dazzling1 and you notice the snow       
crusted upon its surface into round     
hillocks1 with pellucid shadows like    
shining pavilions for the spirits of the
 upper regions of the air4 ,why is the  
effect so different from its former     
desolate and lumpish appearance8 ,tall  
rocks rise from the roadside with dark  
waving pine-trees shooting from them1   
over the highest top of which1 as you   
look up1 you see ,mont-,blanc2 a ruined 
tower serves as a foil to the serene    
smiler in the clouds that mocks at the  
defences of art1 or the encroachments of
 time4 ,another mountain opposite1 part 
bare1 part clothed with wood1 intercepts
 the view to the left1 giving effect to 
what is seen1 and leaving more to the   
imagination2 and the impetuous torrent  
roars at your feet1 a hundred fathoms   
below1 with the bright red clusters of  
the mountain-ash and loose fragments of 

rock bending over it1 and into which a  
single step would precipitate you4 ,one 
of the mightiest objects in nature is   
set off by the most appropriate and     
striking accidents2 and the impression  
is of the most romantic and enchanting  
kind4 ,the scene has an intoxicating    
effect2 you are relieved from the toil  
of wishing to admire1 and the           
imagination is delighted to follow the  
lead of the senses4 ,we passed this part
 of the road in a bright morning1       
incessantly turning back to admire1 and 
finding fresh cause of pleasure and     
wonder at every step or pause1 loth to  
leave it1 and yet urged onward by       
continual displays of new and endless   
beauties4 ,chamouni seems to lie low    
enough2 but we found that the river and 
the road along with it winds and tumbles
 for miles over steep banks or sloping  
ground2 and as you revert your eye1 you 
find that which was a flat converted    
into a table-land2 the objects which    
were lately beneath you now raised above

 you1 and forming an intermediate stage 
between the spot where you are and the  
more distant elevations2 and the last   
snow-crowned summits reflected in       
translucent pools of water by the       
roadside1 with spots of the brightest   
azure in them 7denoting mineral         
springs72 the luxuriant branches of the 
ash1 willow1 and acacia waving over     
them1 and the scarlet flowers of the    
geranium1 or the water-lilies1 #8all    
silver white1' stuck like gems in the   
girdle of old winter1 and offering a    
sparkling foreground to the retiring    
range of icebergs and avalanches4 ,this 
rapid and whirling descent continued    
almost to ,saleges1 about twenty miles  
from ,chamouni4 ,here we dined1 and     
proceeded that night to ,bonneville1 on 
nearly level ground2 but still with the 
same character the whole way of a road  
winding through the most cultivated and 
smiling country1 full of pastures1      
orchards1 vineyards1 cottages1 villas1  
refreshing streams1 long avenues of     

trees1 and every kind of natural and    
artificial beauty1 flanked with rocks   
and precipices 7on each side7 of the    
most abrupt and terrific appearance1 and
 on which1 from the beginning of time1  
the hand of man has made no impression1 
except that here and there you see a    
patch of verdure1 a cottage1 a flock of 
sheep1 at a height which the eye can    
hardly reach1 and which you think no    
foot could tread4 ,i have seen no       
country where ,i have been more tempted 
to stop and enjoy myself1 where ,i      
thought the inhabitants had more reason 
to be satisfied1 and where1 if you could
 not find happiness1 it seemed in vain  
to seek farther for it4 ,you have every 
kind and degree of enjoyment2 the       
extremes of luxury and wildness1        
gigantic sublimity at a distance or over
 your head1 elegance and comfort at your
 feet2 you may gaze at the air-drawn    
,alps1 or shut out the prospect by a    
flowering shrub1 or by a well-clipped   
hedge1 or neatly-wainscoted parlour3 and

 you may vary all these as you please1  
#8with kindliest interchange4' ,perhaps 
one of these days ,i may try the        
experiment1 and turn my back on sea-coal
 fires1 and old ,english friends6 ,the  
inn at ,bonneville was dirty1           
ill-provided1 and as it generally       
happens in such cases1 the people were  
inattentive1 and the charges high4 ,we  
were1 however1 indemnified by the       
reception we met with at ,geneva1 where 
the living was luxurious1 and the       
expence comparatively trifling4 ,i shall
 not dwell on this subject1 lest ,i     
should be thought an epicure1 though    
indeed ,i rather #8live a man forbid1'  
being forced to deny myself almost all  
those good things which ,i recommend to 
others4 ,geneva is1 ,i think1 a very    
neat and picturesque town1 not equal to 
some others we had seen1 but very well  
for a ,calvinistic capital4 ,it stands  
on a rising ground1 at the end of the   
lake1 with the purple ,rhone running by 
it1 and ,mont-,blanc and the ,savoy     

,alps seen on one side1 and the ,jura on
 the other4 ,i was struck with the fine 
forms of many of the women here4 ,though
 ,i was pleased with my fare1 ,i was not
 altogether delighted with the manners  
and appearance of the inhabitants4      
,their looks may be said to be moulded  
on the republican maxim1 that #8you are 
no better than they1' and on the natural
 inference from it1 that #8they are     
better than you4' ,they pass you with   
that kind of scrutinizing and captious  
air1 as if some controversy was         
depending between you as to the form of 
religion or government4 ,i here saw     
,rousseau's house1 and also read the    
,edinburgh ,review for ,may4 ,the next  
day we passed along in the ,diligence   
through scenery of exquisite beauty and 
perfect cultivation--vineyards and      
farms1 and villas and hamlets of the    
most enviable description1 succeeding   
each other in uninterrupted connexion1  
by the smooth margin of the silver lake4
 ,we saw ,lausanne by moonlight4 ,its   

situation1 as far as ,i could judge1 and
 the environs were superb4 ,we arrived  
that night at ,vevey1 after a week's    
absence and an exceedingly delightful   
tour4                                   
,,chapter ,,xxvii   ,we returned down   
the ,rhine through ,holland4 ,i was     
willing to see the contrast between flat
 and lofty1 and between ,venice and     
,amsterdam4 ,we left ,vevey on the #bjth
 of ,september1 and arrived in ,england 
on the #afth of ,october4 ,it was at    
first exceedingly hot2 we encountered   
several days of severe cold on the road1
 and it afterwards became mild and      
pleasant again4 ,we hired a             
char-aux-bancs from ,vevey to ,basle1   
and it took us four days to reach this  
latter place2 the expense of the        
conveyance was twenty-four francs a day1
 besides the driver4 ,the first part of 
our journey1 as we ascended from the    
,lake on the way to ,moudon1 was like an
 arial voyage1 from the elevation and   
the clearness of the atmosphere2 yet    

still through the most lovely country   
imaginable1 and with glimpses of the    
grand objects behind us 7seen over      
delicious pastures1 and through         
glittering foliage7 that were truly     
magical4 ,the combinations of language1 
however1 answer but ill to the varieties
 of nature1 and by repeating these      
descriptions so often1 ,i am afraid of  
becoming tiresome4 ,my excuse must be1  
that ,i have little to relate but what  
,i saw4 ,after mounting to a            
considerable height1 we descended to    
,moudon1 a small town situated in a most
 romantic valley4 ,the accommodations at
 the inn here were by no means good1    
though it is a place of some            
pretensions4 ,in proportion to the size 
of the house and the massiveness of the 
furniture1 the provisions of the kitchen
 appeared to be slender1 and the        
attendance slack4 ,the freshness of the 
air the next morning1 and the striking  
beauty and rapid changes of the scenery1
 soon made us forget any disappointment 

we had experienced in this respect4 ,as 
we ascended a steep hill on this side of
 ,moudon1 and looked back1 first at the 
green dewy valley under our feet1 with  
the dusky town and the blue smoke rising
 from it1 then at the road we had       
traversed the preceding evening1 winding
 among thick groves of trees1 and last  
at the ,savoy ,alps on the other side of
 the ,lake of ,geneva 7with which we had
 been familiar for four months1 and     
which seemed to have no mind to quit us7
 ,i perceived a bright speck close to   
the top of one of these--,i was         
delighted1 and said it was ,mont ,blanc4
 ,our driver was of a different opinion1
 was positive it was only a cloud1 and  
,i accordingly supposed ,i had taken a  
sudden fancy for a reality4 ,i began in 
secret to take myself to task1 and to   
lecture myself for my proneness to build
 theories on the foundation of my       
conjectures and wishes4 ,on turning     
round occasionally1 however1 ,i observed
 that this cloud remained in the same   

place1 and ,i noticed the circumstance  
to our guide1 as favouring my first     
suggestion2 for clouds do not usually   
remain long in the same place4 ,we      
disputed the point for half a day1 and  
it was not till the afternoon when we   
had reached the other side of the lake  
of ,neufchatel1 that this same cloud    
rising like a canopy over the point     
where it had hovered1 #8in shape and    
station proudly eminent1' he            
acknowledged it to be ,mont ,blanc4 ,we 
were then at a distance of about forty  
miles from ,vevey1 and eighty or ninety 
from ,chamouni4 ,this will give the     
reader some idea of the scale and nature
 of this wonderful scenery4 ,we dined at
 ,iverdun 7a pretty town71 at the head  
of the lake1 and passed on to           
,neufchatel1 along its enchanting and   
almost unrivalled borders1 having the   
long unaspiring range of the ,jura on   
our left 7from the top of which ,st4    
,preux1 on his return from his          
wanderings round the world1 first       

greeted that country1 where #8torrents  
of delight had poured into his heart1'  
and1 indeed1 we could distinguish the   
,dent de ,jamant right over ,clarens    
almost the whole way71 and on our right 
was the rippling lake1 its low          
cultivated banks on the other side1 then
 a brown rocky ridge of mountains1 and  
the calm golden peaks of the snowy      
passes of the ,simplon1 the ,great ,st4 
,bernard1 and 7as ,i was fain to        
believe7 of ,monteroso rising into the  
evening sky at intervals beyond4        
,meanwhile we rode on through a country 
abounding in farms and vineyards and    
every kind of comfort1 and deserving the
 epithets1 #8verd et riant4' ,sometimes 
a tall rock rose by the road side2 or a 
ruinous turret or a well-compacted villa
 attracted our attention4 ,neufchatel is
 larger and handsomer than ,iverdun1 and
 is remarkable for a number of those    
genteel and quiet-looking habitations1  
where people seem to have retired 7in   
the midst of society7 to spend the rest 

of their lives in ease and comfort3 they
 are not for shew1 nor are they very    
striking from situation2 they are       
neither fashionable nor romantic2 but   
the decency and sober ornaments of their
 exterior evidently indicate fireside   
enjoyments and cultivated taste within4 
,this kind of retreat1 where there is   
nothing to surprise1 nothing to disgust1
 nothing to draw the attention out of   
itself1 uniting the advantages of       
society and solitude1 of simplicity and 
elegance1 and where the mind can indulge
 in a sort of habitual and self-centred 
satisfaction1 is the only one which ,i  
should never feel a wish to quit4 ,the  
golden mean is1 indeed1 an exact        
description of the mode of life ,i      
should like to lead--of the style ,i    
should like to write2 but alas6 ,i am   
afraid ,i shall never succeed in either 
object of my ambition6  ,the next day   
being cloudy1 we lost sight entirely of 
the highest range of ,alpine hills1 and 
saw them no more afterwards4 ,the road  

lay for some miles through an open and  
somewhat dreary country1 in which the   
only objects of curiosity were the tall 
peasant-girls working in the fields1    
with their black gauze head-dresses1    
sticking out from their matted hair like
 the wings of a dragon-fly4 ,we1        
however1 had the ,lake of ,bienne and   
,isle of ,st4 ,pierre in prospect before
 us1 which are so admirably described by
 ,rousseau1 in his #8,reveries of a     
,solitary ,walker1' and to which he     
gives the preference over the ,lake of  
,geneva4 ,the effect from the town of   
,bienne where we stopped to dine was not
 much2 but in climbing to the top of a  
steep sandy hill beyond it1 we saw the  
whole to great advantage4 ,evening was  
just closing in1 and the sky was cloudy1
 with a few red streaks near the        
horizon3 the first range of ,alps only  
was discernible2 the ,lake was of a dull
 sombre lead colour1 and the ,isle of   
,st4 ,pierre was like a dark spot in it2
 the hills on one side of the ,lake     

ascended abrupt and gloomy2 extensive   
forests swept in magnificent surges over
 the rich valley to our left2 towns were
 scattered below us here and there1 as  
in a map2 rocky fragments hung over our 
heads1 with the shattered trunks of huge
 pine-trees2 a mountain-torrent rushed  
down the irregular chasm between us and 
the base of the mountain1 that rose in  
misty grandeur on the opposite side2 but
 the whole was in the greatest keeping1 
and viewed by the twilight of historic  
landscape4 ,yet amidst all this         
solemnity and grandeur1 the eye         
constantly reverted to one little dark  
speck1 the ,isle of ,st4 ,pierre 7where 
,rousseau had taken refuge for a few    
months from his sorrows and his         
persecutions7 with a more intense       
interest than all the rest2 for the     
widest prospects are trivial to the deep
 recesses of the human heart1 and its   
anxious beatings are far more audible   
than the #8loud torrent or the          
whirlwind's roar6' ,the clouds of       

vapours1 and the ebon cloud of night    
prevented our having a distinct view of 
the road that now wound down to ----1   
where we stopped for the night4 ,the inn
 here 7the ,rose and ,crown71 though    
almost a solitary house in a solitary   
valley1 is a very good one1 and the     
cheapest we met with abroad4 ,our bill  
for supper1 lodging1 and breakfast1     
amounted to only seven francs4 ,our     
route1 the following morning1 lay up a  
broad steep valley1 with a fine gravelly
 road through it1 and forests of pine   
and other trees1 raised like an         
amphitheatre on either side4 ,the sun   
had just risen1 and the drops of rain   
still hung upon the branches4 ,on the   
other side we came into a more open     
country1 and then again were inclosed   
among wild and narrow passes of high    
rock1 split either by thunder or        
earthquakes into ledges1 like castle    
walls1 coming down to the edge of a     
stream that winds through the valley1 or
 aspiring to an airy height1 with the   

diminished pines growing on their very  
tops1 and patches of verdure and the    
foliage of other trees flourishing in   
the interstices between them4 ,it was   
the last scene of the kind we           
encountered4 ,i begin to tire of these  
details1 and will hasten to the end of  
my journey1 touching only on a few      
detached points and places4             
,,basle4--,this is a remarkably neat    
town2 but it lies beyond the confines of
 the picturesque4 ,we stopped at the    
,three ,kings1 and were shewn into a    
long1 narrow room1 which did not promise
 well at first2 but the waiter threw up 
the window at the further end1 and we   
all at once saw the full breadth of the 
,rhine1 rolling rapidly beneath it1     
after passing through the arches of an  
extensive bridge4 ,it was clear         
moonlight1 and the effect was fine and  
unexpected4 ,the broad mass of water    
rushed by with clamorous sound and      
stately impetuosity1 as if it were      
carrying a message from the mountains to

 the ocean6 ,the next morning we        
perceived that it was of a muddy colour4
 ,we thought of passing down it in a    
small boat2 but the covering was so low 
as to make the posture uncomfortable1   
or1 if raised higher1 there was a danger
 of its being overset by any sudden gust
 of wind4 ,we therefore went by the     
,diligence to ,colmar and ,strasburg4 ,i
 regretted afterwards that we did not   
take the right hand road by ,freybourg  
and the ,black ,forest--the woods1      
hills1 and mouldering castles of which1 
as far as ,i could judge from a         
distance1 are the most romantic and     
beautiful possible4 ,the tower at       
,strasburg is red1 and has a singular   
appearance4 ,the fortifications here1 in
 time of peace1 have an effect like the 
stillness of death4  ,,rastadt4--,we    
crossed the ,rhine at ,strasburg1 and   
proceeded through ,rastadt and ,manheim 
to ,mayence4 ,we stopped the first night
 at the ,golden ,cross at ,rastadt1     
which is the very best inn ,i was at    

during the whole time ,i was abroad4    
,among other things1 we had chiffrons   
for supper1 which ,i found on inquiry   
were wood-partridges1 which are much    
more highly esteemed than the field     
ones4 ,so delicately do they distinguish
 in ,germany6 ,manheim is a splendid    
town1 both from its admirable buildings 
and the glossy neatness of the houses4  
,they are too fine to live in1 and seem 
only made to be looked at4 ,would that  
one of the streets could be set down in 
,waterloo-place6 ,yet even ,manheim is  
not equal to the towns in ,italy4 ,there
 the houses are palaces4  ,mayence is a 
disagreeable town4 ,we half missed the  
scenery between this and ,coblentz1 the 
only part of the ,rhine worth seeing4   
,we saw it1 however1 by moonlight 7which
 hung over it like a silver veil71 with 
its nodding towers and dismantled       
fortresses over our heads1 the steep    
woody banks on the opposite side1 and   
the broad glittering surface of the     
,rhine1 reflecting the white clouds or  

dark sail gliding by4 ,it was like a    
brilliant dream2 nor did the mellow     
winding notes of the horn1 calling to   
the warders of the drawbridges as we    
passed along1 lessen the effect4        
,ehrenbreitstein overlooks ,coblentz1   
and crowns it with magnificence and     
beauty4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington1 ,i   
understood1 had been here1 and being    
asked by a ,french officer1 #8,if it    
could be taken8' answered1 #8,yes2 in   
two ways1 by hunger and gold4' ,did the 
,duke of ,wellington make this answer8  
,i cry you mercy--it was the ,frenchman 
who gave the answer3 the ,duke said     
nothing4  ,cologne is the birth-place of
 ,rubens2 and at one of the churches1   
there is a ,crucifixion by him1 which we
 did not see1 for it being the time of  
divine service1 the back was turned to  
the spectator1 and only a copy of it was
 exhibited4 ,the road from ,cologne to  
,neuss is the only really bad one we    
found on the ,continent2 it is a mere   
sand-bank1 and not likely to be soon    

mended1 from its vicinity to the ,rhine4
  ,from ,neuss to ,cleves we went in the
 ,royal ,prussian ,diligence1 and from  
thence to ,nimeguen1 the first town in  
,holland4 ,from a small tower here we   
had an admirable view of the country4   
,it was nearly a perfect flat all round1
 as far as the eye could reach2 yet it  
was a rich and animated1 as well as a   
novel scene4 ,you saw a greater extent  
of surface than is possible in a hilly  
country2 all within the circumference of
 the horizon lay exposed to the eye4 ,it
 was like seeing a section of the entire
 globe1 or like #8striking flat its     
thick rotundity4' ,it was a fine clear  
afternoon1 and in the midst of this     
uniformity of surface1 you saw every    
other variety--rich meadows1 with flocks
 and herds feeding1 hedge-rows1 willowy 
banks1 woods1 corn-fields1 roads winding
 along in different directions1 canals1 
boats sailing1 innumerable villages1    
windmills1 bridges1 and towns and cities
 in the far-off horizon2 but neither    

rock1 nor mountain1 nor barren waste1   
nor any object that prevented your      
seeing the one beyond it4 ,there were no
 contrasts1 no masses1 but the immense  
space stretched out beneath the eye was 
filled up with dotted lines1 and minute1
 detached1 countless beauties4 ,it was  
as if the earth were curiously fringed  
and embroidered4 ,holland is the same   
everywhere1 except that it is often more
 intersected by canals2 and that as you 
approach the sea1 the water prevails    
over the land4 ,we proceeded from       
,nimeguen to ,utrecht and ,amsterdam1 by
 the stage4 ,the rich uninterrupted     
cultivation1 the marks of successful    
industry and smiling plenty1 are equally
 commendable and exhilarating2 but the  
repetition of the same objects1 and the 
extent of home view1 become at last     
oppressive4 ,if you see much at once1   
there ought to be masses and relief3 if 
you see only detached objects1 you ought
 to be confined to a few of them at a   
time4 ,what is the use of seeing a      

hundred windmills1 a hundred barges1 a  
hundred willow-trees1 or a hundred herds
 of cattle at once8 ,any one specimen is
 enough1 and the others hang like a     
dead-weight on the traveller's patience4
 ,besides1 there is something lumpish   
and heavy in the aspect of the country2 
the eye is clogged and impeded in its   
progress over it by dams and dykes1 and 
the marshy nature of the soil damps and 
chills imagination4 ,there is a like    
extent of country at ,cassel in ,france2
 but from the greater number of woods   
and a more luxuriant vegetation 7leaving
 the bare earth seldom visible17 the    
whole landscape seems in one glow1 and  
the eye scours delighted over waving    
groves and purple distances4 ,the towns 
and villas in ,holland are unrivalled   
for neatness1 and an appearance of      
wealth and comfort4 ,all the way from   
,utrecht to ,amsterdam1 to the ,hague1  
to ,rotterdam1 you might fancy yourself 
on ,clapham ,common4 ,the canals are    
lined with farms and summer-houses1 with

 orchards and gardens of the utmost     
beauty1 and in excellent taste4 ,the    
exterior of their buildings is as clean 
as the interior of ours2 their          
public-houses look as nice and          
well-ordered as our private ones4 ,if   
you are up betimes in a morning1 you see
 a servant wench 7the domestic ,naiad17 
with a leathern pipe1 like that attached
 to a fire-engine1 drenching the walls  
and windows with pail-fulls of water4   
,with all this1 they suffocate you with 
tobacco smoke in their stage-coaches and
 canal-boats1 and you do not see a set  
of clean teeth from one end of ,holland 
to the other4 ,amsterdam did not answer 
our expectations2 it is a kind of       
paltry1 rubbishly ,venice4 ,the pictures
 of ,rembrandt here 7some of which have 
little shade7 are inferior to what we   
have in ,england4 ,i was assured here   
that ,rembrandt was the greatest painter
 in the world1 and at ,antwerp that     
,rubens was4 ,the inn at ,amsterdam 7the
 ,rousland7 is one of the best ,i have  

been at2 and an inn is no bad test of   
the civilization and diffusion of       
comfort in a country4 ,we saw a play at 
the theatre here2 and the action was    
exceedingly graceful and natural4 ,the  
chimes at ,amsterdam1 which play every  
quarter of an hour1 at first seemed gay 
and delightful1 and in a day and a half 
became tedious and intolerable4 ,it was 
as impertinent as if a servant could not
 come into the room to answer the bell  
without dancing and jumping over the    
chairs and tables every time4 ,a row of 
lime-trees grew and waved their branches
 in the middle of the street facing the 
hotel4 ,the ,dutch1 who are not an ideal
 people1 bestow all their taste and     
fancy on practical things1 and instead  
of creating the chimeras of poetry1     
devote their time and thoughts to       
embellishing the objects of ordinary and
 familiar life4 ,ariosto said1 it was   
easier to build palaces with words1 than
 common houses with stones4 ,the ,hague 
is ,hampton-,court turned into a large  

town4 ,there is an excellent collection 
of pictures here1 with some of my old   
favourites brought back from the        
,louvre1 by ,rembrandt1 ,vandyke1 ,paul 
,potter1 c4 ,holland is1 perhaps1 the   
only country which you gain nothing by  
seeing4 ,it is exactly the same as the  
,dutch landscapes of it4 ,i was shewn   
the plain and village of ,ryswick1 close
 to the ,hague4 ,it struck me ,i had    
seen something very like it before4 ,it 
is the back-ground of ,paul ,potter's   
,bull4 ,from the views and models of    
,chinese scenery and buildings preserved
 in the ,museum here1 it would seem that
 ,holland is the ,china of ,europe4     
,delft is a very model of comfort and   
polished neatness4 ,we met with a       
gentleman belonging to this place in the
 trackschuyt1 who1 with other           
civilities1 shewed us his house 7a      
perfect picture in its kind17 and       
invited us in to rest and refresh       
ourselves1 while the other boat was     
getting ready4 ,these things are an     

extension of one's idea of humanity4 ,it
 is pleasant1 and one of the uses of    
travel1 to find large tracts of land    
cultivated1 cities built and repaired1  
all the conveniences of life1 men1      
women1 and children laughing1 talking1  
and happy1 common sense and good manners
 on the other side of the ,english      
channel4 ,i would not wish to lower any 
one's idea of ,england2 but let him     
enlarge his notions of existence and    
enjoyment beyond it4 ,he will not think 
the worse of his own country1 for       
thinking better of human nature6 ,the   
inconveniences of travelling by         
canal-boats in ,holland is1 that you    
make little way1 and are forced to get  
out and have your luggage taken into    
another boat at every town you come to1 
which happens two or three times in the 
course of the day4 ,let no one go to the
 ,washington ,arms at ,rotterdam2 it is 
only fit for ,american sea-captains4    
,rotterdam is a handsome bustling town2 
and on inquiring our way1 we were       

accosted by a ,dutch servant-girl1 who  
had lived in an ,english family for a   
year1 and who spoke ,english better1 and
 with less of a foreign accent1 than any
 ,french woman ,i ever heard4 ,this     
convinced me that ,german is not so     
difficult to an ,englishman as ,french2 
for the difficulty of acquiring any     
foreign language must be mutual to the  
natives of each country4 ,there was a   
steam-boat here which set sail for      
,london the next day2 but we preferred  
passing through ,ghent1 ,lille1 and     
,antwerp4 ,this last is a very          
delightful city1 and the spire of the   
cathedral exquisitely light1 beautiful1 
and well-proportioned4 ,indeed1 the view
 of the whole city from the water-side  
is as singular as it is resplendent4 ,we
 saw the ,rubenses in the great church  
here4 ,they were hung outside the choir2
 and seen against the huge white walls1 
looked like pictures dangling in a      
broker's shop for sale4 ,they did not   
form a part of the building4 ,the person

 who shewed us the ,taking ,down from   
the ,cross1 said1 #8,it was the finest  
picture in the world4' ,i said1 #8,one  
of the finest'--an answer with which he 
appeared by no means satisfied4 ,we     
returned by way of ,st4 ,omers and      
,calais4 ,i wished to see ,calais once  
more1 for it was here ,i first landed in
 ,france twenty years ago4  ,i confess1 
,london looked to me on my return like a
 long1 straggling1 dirty country-town2  
nor do the names of ,liverpool1         
,manchester1 ,birmingham1 ,leeds1 or    
,coventry1 sound like a trumpet in the  
ears1 or invite our pilgrim steps like  
those of ,sienna1 of ,cortona1 ,perugia1
 ,arezzo1 ,pisa and ,ferrara4 ,i am not 
sorry1 however1 that ,i have got back4  
,there is an old saying1 ,home is home1 
be it never so homely4 ,however         
delightful or striking the objects may  
be abroad1 they do not take the same    
hold of you1 nor can you identify       
yourself with them as at home4 ,not only
 is the language an insuperable         

obstacle2 other things as well as men   
speak a language new and strange to you4
 ,you live comparatively in a dream1    
though a brilliant and a waking one4 ,it
 is in vain to urge that you learn the  
language2 that you are familiarized with
 manners and scenery4 ,no other language
 can ever become our mother-tongue4 ,we 
may learn the words2 but they do not    
convey the same feelings1 nor is it     
possible they should do so1 unless we   
could begin our lives over again1 and   
divide our conscious being into two     
different selves4 ,not only can we not  
attach the same meaning to words1 but we
 cannot see objects with the same eyes1 
or form new loves and friendships after 
a certain period of our lives4 ,the     
pictures that most delighted me in      
,italy were those ,i had before seen in 
the ,louvre #8with eyes of youth4' ,i   
could revive this feeling of enthusiasm1
 but not transfer it4 ,neither would ,i 
recommend the going abroad when young1  
to become a mongrel being1 half ,french1

 half ,english4 ,it is better to be     
something than nothing4 ,it is well to  
see foreign countries to enlarge one's  
speculative knowledge1 and dispel false 
prejudices and libellous views of human 
nature2 but our affections must settle  
at home4 ,besides though a dream1 it is 
a splendid one4 ,it is fine to see the  
white ,alps rise in the horizon of fancy
 at the distance of a thousand miles2 or
 the imagination may wing its thoughtful
 flight among the castellated           
,apennines1 roaming from city to city   
over cypress and olive grove1 viewing   
the inhabitants as they crawl about     
mouldering palaces or temples1 which no 
hand has touched for the last three     
hundred years1 and see the genius of    
,italy brooding over the remains of     
virtue1 glory and liberty1 with ,despair
 at the gates1 an ,english ,minister    
handing the keys to a foreign ,despot1  
and stupid ,members of ,parliament      
wondering what is the matter6           
,,the ,,end4                            

,,miscellaneous ,,essays ,,on ,,the     
,,fine ,,arts                           
,,bibliographical ,,note   ,of the      
essays on the ,fine ,arts which follow1 
none were collected for publication in  
volume form by ,hazlitt4 ,particulars as
 to their source will be found at the   
head of the ,notes referring to each    
essay4  ,in #ahch the articles on       
,painting and ,the ,fine ,arts1         
#8contributed to the seventh edition of 
the ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 by ,b4 ,r4
 ,haydon1 ,esq41 and ,william ,hazlitt1 
,esq41' were republished in ,edinburgh  
by ,messrs4 ,adam  ,charles ,black1 in a
 post #hvo4 volume4 ,see the article in 
the present volume and notes thereto4   
,in #ahdc appeared a fcap4 #hvo4 volume 
of #8,criticisms on ,art3 and ,sketches 
of the ,picture ,galleries of ,england4 
,by ,william ,hazlitt4 ,with ,catalogues
 of the ,principal ,galleries1 now first
 collected4 ,edited by his ,son1' and   
published by ,john ,templeman1 #bdh1    
,regent ,street4 ,a ,second ,series     

appeared the year following1 published  
by ,c4 ,templeman1 #f ,great ,portland  
,street1 ,london4 ,these volumes contain
 the essays printed in the present      
volume1 together with others on ,art    
which are to be found in ,table ,talk1  
,the ,round ,table1 ,the ,plain ,speaker
 and volume x4 of the present edition1  
where the ,edinburgh ,review articles   
will be found4 ,they also contain two   
appendixes of catalogues of pictures in 
the various galleries1 compiled by      
,hazlitt's son1 and not here reprinted4 
,in the ,advertisement to these volumes 
,mr4 ,w4 ,hazlitt 7the second7 states3  
#8,i have carefully corrected all the   
references to the pictures described1   
according to the latest arrangement of  
each particular gallery2 and ,i have    
here and there ventured to append an    
illustrative or corrective note1 where  
such seemed to be required as to a      
matter of fact4' ,in the present edition
 the ,essays are given as ,hazlitt      
published them1 and in the order of     

their first publication4  ,a #8,new     
,edition' of #8,essays on the ,fine     
,arts by ,william ,hazlitt1' was        
published in one volume by ,messrs4     
,reeves  ,turner in #ahgc1 edited by    
,mr4 ,w4 ,carew ,hazlitt4               
,,contents                              
,,page          ,on ,haydon's ,solomon  
#cji           ,the ,catalogue ,raisonn 
of the ,british ,institution  #caa      
,west's ,picture of ,death on the ,pale 
,horse          #cah           ,on      
,williams's ,views in ,greece           
#cbd           ,on the ,elgin ,marbles  
#cbf           ,fonthill ,abbey         
#cdh           ,judging of ,pictures    
#cef           ,the ,vatican            
#cei           ,english ,students at    
,rome                           #cfg    
,fine ,arts                             
#cgg           ,james ,barry            
#dac           ,originality             
#dbc           ,the ,ideal              
#dbi           ,royal ,academy          
#dcd                                    

,,essays ,,on ,,the ,,fine ,,arts   ,,on
 ,,haydon',s ,,solomon  ,the ,tenth     
,exhibition of the ,society of ,painters
 in ,oil and ,water ,colours opened on  
,monday last4 ,the productions of       
,glover1 ,cristall1 ,de ,wint1 c4       
principally fill and adorn the ,water   
,colour ,department4--,among the oil    
pictures in the room1 the principal are1
 ,the ,judgment of ,solomon1 by ,mr4    
,haydon1 and ,don ,quixote receiving    
,mambrino's ,helmet from ,sancho1 by    
,mr4 ,richter4 ,the former is a work    
that evidently claims a place in the    
higher department of art2 and we are    
little disposed to reject that claim4   
,it certainly shews a bold and aspiring 
mind2 in many parts 7that which we hold 
above all other things to be essential  
to the painter7 an eye for the          
picturesque both in form and colour2    
considerable variety of expression1     
attitude and character1 and great vigour
 and rapidity of execution throughout4  
,it would1 at the same time1 be in vain 

to deny1 that the success is not always 
in proportion to the effort made2 that  
the conception of character is sometimes
 erroneous2 that the desire to avoid    
insipidity and monotony has occasionally
 led to extravagance and distortion2    
that there are great inequalities in the
 style1 and some inconsistencies in the 
composition2 and that1 however striking 
and admirable many of the parts are1    
there is a want of union and complete   
harmony between them4 ,what was said of 
the disjecta membra poet is not         
inapplicable to this picture4 ,it       
exhibits fine studies and original      
fragments of a great work--it has many  
powerful starts of genius--without      
conveying that impression of uniform    
consistency and combined effect1 which  
is sometimes attained by the systematic 
mechanism of well-disciplined dullness1 
and at others is the immediate emanation
 of genius4  ,that which strikes the eye
 most on entering the room1 and on which
 it dwells with the greatest admiration 

afterwards1 are the figures of the two  
,jewish ,doctors on the left of         
,solomon4 ,we do not recollect any      
figures in modern pictures which have a 
more striking effect4 ,we say this1 not 
only with respect to the solid mass of  
colour which they project on the eye1   
the dark draperies contrasting finely   
with the paleness of the countenances1  
but also with respect to the force1     
truth1 and dramatic opposition of       
character displayed in them4 ,the face  
of the one is turned in anxious         
expectation towards the principal actors
 in the scene3 the other1 looking       
downwards1 appears lost in inward       
meditation upon it4 ,the one is eagerly 
watching for the catastrophe1--the other
 seems endeavouring to anticipate it4   
,too much praise cannot be given to the 
conception of the figure of ,solomon1   
which is raised above the rest of the   
picture1 and placed in the centre--the  
face fronting1 and looking down1 the    
action balanced and suspended1 and the  

face intended to combine the different  
characters of youth1 beauty1 and wisdom4
 ,such is evidently the conception of   
the painter1 which we think equally     
striking and just2 but we are by no     
means satisfied that he has succeeded in
 embodying this idea1 except as far as  
relates to the design4 ,the expression  
of the countenance of the youthful      
judge1 which ought to convey the feeling
 of calm penetration1 we think1         
degenerates into supercilious           
indifference2 the action given to the   
muscles is such as to destroy the beauty
 of the features1 without giving force  
to the character1 and instead of the    
majesty of conscious power and          
intellect1 there is an appearance of    
languid indecision1 which seems to      
shrink with repugnance from the         
difficulties which it has to encounter4 
,the colouring of the head is           
unexceptionable4 ,in the face of the    
good mother1 the artist has1 in our     
opinion1 succeeded in overcoming that   

which has been always considered as the 
greatest difficulty of the art--the     
union of beauty with strong expression4 
,the whole face exhibits the internal   
workings of maternal love and fear2 but 
its death-like paleness and agony do not
 destroy the original character of      
feminine beauty and delicacy4 ,the      
attitude of this figure is decidedly    
bad1 and out of nature as well as       
decorum4 ,it is one of those sprawling1 
extravagant1 theatrical ,french figures1
 in which a common action is strained to
 the extremity of caricature4 ,the      
action and expression of the executioner
 are liable to the same objection4 ,he  
is turbulent and fierce1 instead of     
being cold and obdurate4 ,he should not 
bluster in the part heroically like an  
actor--it is his office4--,on the whole1
 we think this picture decidedly        
superior to any of this ,artist's former
 productions1 and a proof not only of   
genius1 but of improved taste and       
judgment4 ,in speaking of it with       

freedom1 we trust we shall best serve   
both him and the art4                   
,,the ,,catalogue ,,raisonn ,,of ,,the  
,,british ,,institution   ,we will lay  
odds that this is a fellow #8damned in a
 fair face2' with white eyes and        
eye-brows2 of the colour of a           
,shrewsbury cake2 a smooth              
tallow-skinned rascal1 a white ,german  
sausage1 a well-fed chitterling1 from   
whose face ,madame de ---- would have   
turned away in disgust1--a              
transcendental stuffed man6 ,we have no 
patience that the ,arts should be       
catechised by a piece of whitleather1 a 
whey-face1 who thinks that pictures1    
like the moon1 should be made of        
green-cheese6 ,shall a roll of double   
tripe rise up in judgment on grace2     
shall a piece of dough talk of feeling8 
#8,tis too much4 #8,sdeath1 for         
,rembrandt to be demanded of a          
cheese-curd1 what replication should he 
make8 ,what might ,vandyke answer to a  
jack-pudding1 whose fingers are of a    

thickness at both ends8 ,what should    
,rubens say1 who #8lived in the rainbow1
 and played i' th' plighted clouds1' to 
a swaddling-clout1 a piece of stockinet1
 of fleecy hosiery1 to a squab man1     
without a bend in his body8 ,what might 
,raphael answer to a joint-stool8 ,or   
,nicholas ,poussin1 charged in the      
presence of his ,cephalus and ,aurora   
with being a mere pedant1 without grace 
or feeling1 to this round-about machine 
of formal impertinence1 this lumbering  
go-cart of dulness and spite8 ,we could 
have wished that as the fellow stood    
before the portrait of ,rembrandt1      
chattering like an ape1 making mocks and
 mows at it1 the picture had lifted up  
its great grimy fist1 and knocked him   
down4  ,the ,catalogue ,raisonn of the  
,british ,institution is only worth     
notice1 as it is pretty well understood 
to be a declaration of the views of the 
,royal ,academy4 ,it is a very dull1    
gross1 impudent attack by one of its    
toad-eaters on human genius1 on         

permanent reputation1 and on liberal    
art4 ,what does it say8 ,why1 in so many
 words1 that the knowledge of ,art in   
this country is inconsistent with the   
existence of the ,academy1 and that     
their success as a body of men          
instituted for promoting and encouraging
 the ,fine ,arts1 requires the          
destruction or concealment of all works 
of ,art of great and acknowledged       
excellence4 ,in this they may be right2 
but we did not think they would have    
come forward to say so themselves4 ,or  
that they would get a fellow1 a low     
buffoon1 a wretched ,merry ,andrew1 a   
practical ,st4 ,giles's joker1 a dirty  
,grub-,street critic1 to vent his       
abominations on the chef-d'uvres        
produced by the greatest painters that  
have gone before them1 to paw them over 
with his bleared-eyes1 to smear the     
filth and ordure of his tongue upon     
them1 to spit at them1 to point at them1
 to nickname them1 to hoot at them1 to  
make mouths at them1 to shrug up his    

shoulders and run away from them in the 
presence of these divine guests1 like a 
blackguard who affects to make a bugbear
 of every one he meets in the street2 to
 play over again the nauseous tricks of 
one of ,swift's ,yahoos--and for what8  
,avowedly for the purpose of diverting  
the public mind from the contemplation  
of all that genius and art can boast in 
the lapse of ages1 and to persuade the  
world that there is nothing in ,art that
 has been or ever will be produced worth
 looking at but the gilt frames and red 
curtains at the ,exhibition of the      
,royal ,academy6 ,we knew before that   
they had no great genius for the ,arts2 
but we thought they might have some love
 of them in their hearts4 ,they here    
avow their rankling jealousy1 hatred and
 scorn1 of all ,art and of all the great
 names in ,art1 and as a bold put       
indeed1 require the keeping down of the 
public taste as the only means of       
keeping up the bubble of their          
reputation4 ,they insist that their only

 hope of continued encouragement and    
support with a discerning public is in  
hood-winking that public1 in confining  
their highest notions of ,art to their  
own gross and superficial style of      
daubing1 and in vilifying all works of  
standard genius4--,this is right        
,english4 ,the ,english are a           
shop-keeping nation1 and the ,royal     
,academy are a society of hucksters in  
the ,fine ,arts1 who are more tenacious 
of their profits as chapmen and dealers1
 than of the honour of the ,art4 ,the   
day after the ,catalogue ,raisonn was   
published1 the ,prince ,regent1 in the  
name and on behalf of his ,father1      
should have directed it to be burned by 
the hands of the hangman of their       
,committee1 or1 upon refusal1 have shut 
up their shop4 ,a society for the       
encouragement and promotion of ,art has 
no right to exist at all1 from the      
moment that it professes to exist only  
in wrong of ,art1 by the suppression of 
the knowledge of ,art1 in contempt of   

genius in ,art1 in defiance of all manly
 and liberal sentiment in ,art4 ,but    
this is what the ,royal ,academy        
professes to do in the ,catalogue       
,raisonn4  ,the ,academy1 from its      
commencement and up to the present hour1
 is in fact1 a mercantile body1 like any
 other mercantile body1 consisting      
chiefly of manufacturers of portraits1  
who have got a regular monopoly of this 
branch of trade1 with a certain rank1   
style1 and title of their own1 that is1 
with the ,king's privilege to be thought
 ,artists and men of genius1--and who1  
with the jealousy natural to such       
bodies1 supported by authority from     
without1 and by cabal within1 think     
themselves bound to crush all generous  
views and liberal principles of ,art1   
lest they should interfere with their   
monopoly and their privilege to be      
thought ,artists and men of genius4 ,the
 ,academy is the ,royal road to ,art4   
,the whole style of ,english ,art1 as   
issuing from this ,academy1 is founded  

on a principle of appeal to the personal
 vanity and ignorance of their sitters1 
and of accommodation to the lucrative   
pursuits of the ,painter1 in a sweeping 
attention to effect in painting1 by     
which means he can cover so many more   
whole or half lengths in each season4   
,the ,artists have not time to finish   
their pictures1 or if they had1 the     
effect would be lost in the superficial 
glare of that hot room1 where nothing   
but rouged cheeks1 naked shoulders1 and 
,ackermann's dresses for ,may1 can catch
 the eye in the crowd and bustle and    
rapid succession of meretricious        
attractions1 as they do in another hot  
room of the same equivocal description4 
,yet they complain in one part of the   
,catalogue1 that #8they 7the            
,academicians7 are forced to come into a
 hasty competition every year with works
 that have stood the test of ages4' ,it 
is for that very reason1 among others1  
that it was proper to exhibit the works 
at the ,british ,institution1 to show to

 the public1 and by that means to make  
the ,academicians feel1 that the        
securing the applause of posterity and a
 real rank in the ,art1 which that alone
 can give1 depended on the number of    
pictures they finished1 and not on the  
number they began4 ,it is this which    
excites the apprehensions of the cabal2 
for if the eye of the public should be  
once spoiled by the ,old ,masters1 the  
necessity of doing something like them  
might considerably baulk the regularity 
of their returns4 ,why should they      
complain of being forced into this      
premature competition8 ,who forces them 
to bring forward so many pictures yearly
 before they are fit to be seen8 ,would 
they have taken more pains1 more time to
 finish them1 to work them up to that   
fastidious standard of perfection1 on   
which they have set their minds1 if they
 had not been hurried into this unfair  
competition with the ,british           
,institution1 #8sent to their account   
with all their imperfections on their   

heads1 unhouseled1 unanointed1          
unanealed8' ,would they have done a     
single stroke more to any one picture1  
if the ,institution had never been      
opened8 ,no such thing4 ,it is not then 
true1 that this new and alarming        
competition prevents them from finishing
 their works1 but it prevents them from 
imposing them on the public as finished4
 ,pingo in eternitatem1 is not their    
motto4 ,there are three things which    
constitute the art of painting1 which   
make it interesting to the public1 which
 give it permanence and rank among the  
efforts of human genius4 ,they are1     
first1 gusto or expression3 i4e4 the    
conveying to the eye the impressions of 
the soul1 or the other senses connected 
with the sense of sight1 such as the    
different passions visible in the       
countenance1 the romantic interest      
connected with scenes of nature1 the    
character and feelings associated with  
different objects4 ,in this1 the highest
 and first part of art1 the ,italian    

painters1 particularly ,raphael1        
,correggio1 c41 excel4 ,the second is   
the picturesque2 that is1 the seizing on
 those objects1 or situations and       
accidents of objects1 as light and      
shade1 c4 which make them most striking 
to the mind as objects of sight only4   
,this is the forte of the ,flemish and  
,venetian painters1 ,titian1 ,paul      
,veronese1 ,rubens1 ,vandyke1           
,rembrandt1 and they have carried this  
part of the art as high as it can go1   
some of them with more1 some of them    
with less of the former excellence4 ,the
 third is the exact and laborious       
imitation of natural objects1 such as   
they exist in their component parts1    
with every variety and nicety of detail1
 the pencil performing the part of a    
microscope1 and there being no necessity
 for expression or the picturesque in   
the object represented1 or anything but 
truth in the representation4 ,in this   
least interesting but still curious and 
ingenious part of the ,art1 the ,dutch  

,school have been allowed to excel1     
though with little of the former        
qualities1 which indeed are not very    
much wanted for this purpose4 ,now in   
all these three the ,english ,school are
 notoriously deficient and they are so  
for these following reasons3--  ,they   
cannot paint gusto1 or high expression1 
for it is not in the national character4
 ,at least1 it must be sought in        
,nature2 but our ,painters do not go out
 of their way in search of character and
 expression--their sitters come to them 
in crowds2 and they come to them not to 
be painted in all the truth of character
 and expression1 but to be flattered out
 of all meaning2 or they would no longer
 come in crowds4 ,to please generally1  
the ,painter must exaggerate what is    
generally pleasing1 obvious to all      
capacities1 and void of offence before  
,god and man1 the shewy1 the            
superficial1 and the insipid1 that which
 strikes the greatest number of persons 
with the least effort of thought2 and he

 must suppress all the rest2 all that   
might be #8to the ,jews a stumbling     
block1 and to the ,gentiles             
foolishness4' ,the ,exhibition is a     
successful experiment on the ignorance  
and credulity of the town4 ,they collect
 #8a quantity of barren spectators' to  
judge of ,art1 in their corporate and   
public capacity1 and then each makes the
 best market he can of them in his own4 
,a ,royal ,academician must not #8hold  
the mirror up to ,nature1' but make his 
canvass #8the glass of fashion1 and the 
mould of form4' ,the #8numbers without  
number' who pay thirty1 forty1 fifty1 a 
hundred guineas for their pictures in   
large1 expect their faces to come out of
 the ,painter's hands smooth1 rosy1     
round1 smiling2 just as they expect     
their hair to come out of the barber's  
curled and powdered4 ,it would be a     
breach of contract to proceed in any    
other way4 ,a fashionable ,artist and a 
fashionable hair-dresser have the same  
common principles of theory and         

practice2 the one fits his customers to 
appear with clat in a ball room1 the    
other in the ,great ,room of the ,royal 
,academy4 ,a certain dexterity1 and a   
knowledge of the prevailing fashion1 are
 all that is necessary to either4 ,an   
,exhibition-portrait is1 therefore1 an  
essence1 not of character1 but of       
commonplace4 ,it displays not high      
thought and fine feeling1 but physical  
well-being1 with an outside label of    
health1 ease1 and competence4 ,yet the  
,catalogue-writer talks of the dignity  
of modern portrait6 ,to enter into a    
general obligation to paint the passions
 or characters of men1 must1 where there
 are none1 be difficult to the artist2  
where they are bad1 be disagreeable to  
his employers4 ,when ,sir ,thomas       
,lawrence painted ,lord ,castlereagh    
some time ago1 he did not try to exhibit
 his character1 out of complaisance to  
his ,lordship1 nor his understanding1   
out of regard to himself2 but he painted
 him in a fashionable coat1 with his    

hair dressed in the fashion1 in a       
genteel posture like one of his footmen1
 and with the prim1 smirking aspect of a
 haberdasher4 ,there was nothing of the 
noble disinvoltura of his ,lordship's   
manner1 the grand contour of his        
features1 the profundity of design hid  
under an appearance of indifference1 the
 traces of the ,irish patriot or the    
,english statesman4 ,it would have      
puzzled ,lavater or ,spurzheim to have  
discovered there the author of the      
,letter to ,mon ,prince4 ,tacitus had   
drawn him before in a different style1  
and perhaps ,sir ,thomas despaired of   
rivalling this great master in his own  
way4 ,yet the picture pleased1 and ,mr4 
,perry of the ,chronicle swore to the   
likeness1 though he had been warned to  
the contrary4 ,now1 if this picture had 
erred on the side of the characteristic 
expression as much as it did on that of 
mannered insignificance1 how it must    
have shocked all parties in the ,state6 
,an insipid misrepresentation was safer 

than a disagreeable reality4 ,in the    
glosses of modern art1 as in the modern 
refinement of law1 it is the truth that 
makes the libel4--,again1 the           
picturesque is necessarily banished from
 the painting rooms of the              
,academicians1 and from the ,great ,room
 of the ,academy4 ,people of fashion go 
to be painted because other people do1  
and they wish to look like other people4
 ,we never remember to have seen a      
memorable head in the ,exhibition of the
 ,royal ,academy4 ,any thing that had   
any thing singular or striking in it    
would look quite monstrous there1 and   
would be stared out of countenance4 ,any
 thing extraordinary or original in     
nature is inadmissible in modern art2   
any thing that would strike the eye1 or 
that you would ever think of again1     
would be a violation of decorum1 an     
infringement of professional etiquette1 
and would disturb the uniform and       
well-arranged monotony of the walls of  
the ,exhibition #8with most admired     

disorder4' ,a man of any originality of 
mind1 if he has also the least common   
sense1 soon finds his error1 and        
reforms4 ,at ,rome one must do as the   
people at ,rome do4 ,the ,academy is not
 the place for the eccentricities of    
genius4 ,the persons of rank and        
opulence1 who wish to have their        
pictures exhibited1 do not wish to be   
exhibited as objects of natural history1
 as extraordinary phenomena in art or   
nature1 in the moral or intellectual    
world2 and in this they are right4      
,neither do they wish to volunteer their
 own persons1 which they hold in due    
reverence1 though there is nothing at   
all in them1 as subjects for the painter
 to exercise his skill upon1 as studies 
of light and shade1 as merely objects of
 sight1 as something curious and worth  
seeing from the outward accidents of    
nature4 ,they do not like to share their
 triumph with nature2 to sink their     
persons in #8her glorious light4' ,they 
owe no allegiance to the elements4 ,they

 wish to be painted as ,mr4 and ,mrs4   
,such-a-one1 not as studies of light and
 shade2 they wish to be represented as  
complete abstractions of persons and    
property1 to have one side of the face  
seen as much as the other2 to have their
 coat1 waistcoat and breeches1 their    
muslin dresses1 silks1 sophas1 and      
settees1 their dogs and horses1 their   
house furniture1 painted1 to have       
themselves and all that belongs to them1
 and nothing else painted4 ,the picture 
is made for them1 and not they for the  
picture4 ,hence there can be nothing but
 the vapid1 trite1 and mechanical1 in   
professional ,art4 ,professional ,art is
 a contradiction in terms4 ,art is      
genius1 and genius cannot belong to a   
profession4 ,our ,painters' galleries   
are not studies1 but lounging           
shew-rooms4 ,would a booby with a star  
wish to be painted 7think you7 with a   
view to its effect in the picture1 or   
would he not have it seen at all events 
and as much as possible8 ,the ,catalogue

 ,writer wishes the gentlemen-sitters of
 the ,royal ,academy to go and look at  
,rembrandt's portraits1 and to ask      
themselves1 their wives1 and daughters1 
whether they would like to be painted in
 the same way8 ,no1 truly4 ,this1 we    
confess1 is hard upon our ,artists1 to  
have to look upon splendour and on      
obscurity still more splendid1 which    
they dare not even attempt to imitate2  
to see themselves condemned1 by the     
refinements of taste and progress of    
civilization1 to smear rouge and white  
paste on the faces and necks of their   
portraits1 for ever2 and still #8to let 
,i dare not wait upon ,i would1 like the
 poor cat in the adage4' ,but why then  
complain of the injury they would       
sustain by the restoration of ,art 7if  
it were possible7 into the original     
wardship of nature and genius1 when     
#8service sweat for duty1 not for meed4'
 ,sir ,joshua made a shift to combine   
some of ,rembrandt's art with his       
portraits1 only by getting the start of 

public affectation1 and by having the   
lead in his profession1 so that like the
 early painters he could assert the     
independence of his own taste and       
judgment4 ,the modern makers of         
catalogues would have driven him and his
 chiaro scuro into the shade presently4 
,the critic professes to admire ,sir    
,joshua1 though all his excellencies are
 ,gothic1 palpably borrowed from the    
,old ,masters4 ,but he is wrong or      
inconsistent in everything4--,the       
imitation of the details of nature is   
not compatible with the professional    
avarice of the painter1 as the two      
former essentials of the art are        
inconsistent with the vanity and        
ignorance of his employers4 #8,this1    
this is the unkindest blow of all4' ,it 
is that in which the understanding of   
the multitude is most likely to conspire
 with the painter's #8own gained        
knowledge' to make him dissatisfied with
 his disproportioned profits or under   
the loss of them4 ,the ,dutch masters   

are instructive enough in this way1 and 
shew the value of detail by shewing the 
value of ,art where there is nothing    
else but this4 ,but this is not all4 ,it
 might be pretended by our wholesale    
manufacturers of chef-d'uvres in the    
,fine ,arts1 that so much nicety of     
execution is useless or improper in     
works of high gusto and grand effect4   
,it happens unfortunately1 however1 that
 the works of the greatest gusto and    
most picturesque effect have this       
fidelity of imitation often in the      
highest degree 7as in ,raphael1 ,titian1
 and ,rembrandt71 generally in a very   
high degree 7as in ,rubens and ,paul    
,veronese71 so that the moderns gain    
nothing by this pretext4 ,this is a     
serious loss of time or reputation to   
them4 ,to paint a hand like ,vandyke    
would cost them as much time as a dozen 
half-lengths2 and they could not do it  
after all4 ,to paint an eye like ,titian
 would cost them their whole year's     
labour1 and they would lose their time  

and their labour into the bargain4 ,or  
to take ,claude's landscapes as an      
example in this respect1 as they are in 
almost all others4 ,if ,turner1 whom1   
with the ,catalogue-writer1 we allow1   
most heartily allow1 to be the greatest 
landscape-painter of the age1 were to   
finish his trees or his plants in the   
foreground1 or his distances1 or his    
middle distances1 or his sky1 or his    
water1 or his buildings1 or any thing in
 his pictures1 in like manner1 he could 
only paint and sell one landscape where 
he now paints and sells twenty4 ,this is
 a clear loss to the artist of pounds1  
shillings1 and pence1 and #8that's a    
feeling disputation4' ,he would have to 
put twenty times as much of every thing 
into a picture as he now has1 and that  
is what 7if he is like other persons who
 have got into bad habits7 he would be  
neither able nor willing to do4 ,it was 
a common cant a short time ago to       
pretend of him as it formerly was of    
,wilson1 that he had other things which 

,claude had not1 and that what ,claude  
had besides1 only impaired the grandeur 
of his pictures4 ,the public have seen  
to the contrary4 ,they see the quackery 
of painting trees blue and yellow1 to   
produce the effect of green at a        
distance4 ,they see the affectation of  
despising the mechanism of the ,art1 and
 never thinking about any thing but the 
mechanism4 ,they see that it is not true
 in ,art1 that a part is greater than   
the whole1 or that the means are        
destructive of the end4 ,they see that a
 daub1 however masterly1 cannot vie with
 the perfect landscapes of the          
all-accomplished ,claude4 #8,to some men
 their graces serve them but as         
enemies'2 and it was so till the other  
day with ,claude4 ,if it had been only  
for opening the eyes of the public on   
this subject1 the ,institution would    
have deserved well of the art and their 
country4                    ,,west',s   
,,picture ,,of ,,death ,,on ,,the ,,pale
 ,,horse   ,mr4 ,west's name stands     

deservedly high in the annals of art in 
this country--too high for him to       
condescend to be his own puffer1 even at
 second-hand4 ,he comes forward1 in the 
present instance1 as the painter and the
 showman of the piece2 as the candidate 
for public applause1 and the judge who  
awards himself the prize2 as the idol on
 the altar1 and the priest who offers up
 the grateful incense of praise4 ,he    
places himself1 as it were1 before his  
own performance1 with a ,catalogue      
,raisonn in his hand1 and1 before the   
spectator can form a judgment on the    
work itself1 dazzles him with an account
 of the prodigies of art which are there
 conceived and executed4 ,this is not   
quite fair4 ,it is a proceeding which1  
though #8it sets on a quantity of barren
 spectators to admire1 cannot but make  
the judicious grieve4' ,mr4 ,west1 by   
thus taking to himself unlimited credit 
for the #8high endeavour and the glad   
success1' by proclaiming aloud that he  
has aimed at the highest sublimities of 

his art1 and as loudly1 with a singular 
mixture of pomposity and phlegm1 that he
 has fully accomplished all that his    
most ardent hopes had                   
anticipated1--must1 we should think1    
obtain a great deal of spurious1        
catchpenny reputation1 and lose a great 
deal of that genuine tribute of         
approbation to which he is otherwise    
entitled1 by turning the attention of   
the well-informed and unprejudiced part 
of the community from his real and      
undoubted merits to his groundless and  
exaggerated pretensions4 ,self-praise1  
it is said1 is no praise2 but it is     
worse than this4 ,it either shows great 
weakness and vanity for an artist to    
talk 7or to get another to talk7 of his 
own work1 which was produced yesterday1 
and may be forgotten to-morrow1 with the
 same lofty1 emphatic1 solemn tone1 as  
if it were already stamped with the     
voice of ages1 and had become sacred to 
the imagination of the beholder2 or else
 the doing so is a deliberate attempt to

 encroach on the right of private       
judgment and public opinion1 which those
 who are not its dupes will resent      
accordingly1 and endeavour to repel by  
acts of precaution or hostility4 ,an    
unsuccessful effort to extort admiration
 is sure to involve its own punishment4 
,we should not have made these remarks1 
if the #8,description of the ,picture of
 ,death' had been a solitary instance of
 the kind2 but it is one of a series of 
descriptions of the same sort--it is a  
part of a system of self-adulation which
 cannot be too much discouraged4        
,perhaps ,mr4 ,west may say1 that the   
,descriptive ,catalogue is not his2 that
 he has nothing to do with its          
composition or absurdities4 ,but it must
 be written with his consent and        
approbation2 and this is a sanction     
which it ought not to receive4 ,we      
presume the artist would have it in his 
option to put a negative on any undue   
censure or flagrant abuse of his        
picture2 it must be equally in his      

power1 and it is equally incumbent upon 
him1 to reject1 with dignified modesty1 
the gross and palpable flatteries which 
it contains1 direct or by implication4  
,the first notice we received of this   
picture was by an advertisement in a    
morning paper1 7the editor of which is  
not apt to hazard extravagant opinions  
without a prompter17 purporting that1   
#8in consequence of the ,president's    
having devoted a year and a half to its 
completion1 and of its having for its   
subject the ,terrible ,sublime1 it would
 place ,great ,britain in the same      
conspicuous relation to the rest of     
,europe in arts1 that the battle of     
,waterloo had done in arms6' ,we shall  
not stay to decide between the battle   
and the picture2 but the writer follows 
up the same idea of the ,terrible       
,sublime in the ,catalogue1 the first   
paragraph of which is conceived in the  
following terms3--  #8,the general      
effect proposed to be excited by this   
picture is the terrible sublime1 and its

 various modifications1 until lost in   
the opposite extremes of pity and       
horror1 a sentiment which painting has  
so seldom attempted to awaken1 that a   
particular description of the subject   
will probably be acceptable to the      
public4'  #8,so shall my anticipation   
prevent your discovery4' ,mr4 ,west     
here1 like ,bayes in the #8,rehearsal1' 
insinuates the plot very profoundly4 ,he
 has1 it seems1 opened a new walk in art
 with its alternate ramifications into  
the opposite regions of horror and pity1
 and kindly takes the reader by the     
hand1 to show him how triumphantly he   
has arrived at the end of his journey4  
#8,in poetry1' continues the writer1    
#8the same effect is produced by a few  
abrupt and rapid gleams of description1 
touching1 as it were1 with fire1 the    
features and edges of a general mass of 
awful obscurity2 but in painting1 such  
indistinctness would be a defect1 and   
imply1 that the artist wanted the power 
to pourtray the conceptions of his      

fancy4 ,mr4 ,west was of opinion that to
 delineate a physical form1 which in its
 moral impression would approximate to  
that of the visionary ,death of ,milton1
 it was necessary to endow it1 if       
possible1 with the appearance of        
superhuman strength and energy4 ,he has1
 therefore1 exerted the utmost force and
 perspicuity of his pencil on the       
central figure4' ,this is #8spoken with 
authority1 and not as the scribes4'     
,poetry1 according to the definition    
here introduced of it1 resembles a      
candlelight picture1 which gives merely 
the rim and outlines of things in a     
vivid and dazzling1 but confused and    
imperfect manner4 ,we cannot tell       
whether this account will be considered 
as satisfactory4 ,but ,mr4 ,west1 or his
 commentator1 should tread cautiously on
 this ground4 ,he may otherwise commit  
himself1 not only in a comparison with  
the epic poet1 but with the inspired    
writer1 who only uses words4 ,it will   
hardly be contended1 for instance1 that 

the account of ,death on the ,pale      
,horse in the book of ,revelations1     
never produced its due effect of the    
terrible sublime1 till the deficiencies 
of the pen were supplied by the pencil4 
,neither do we see how the endowing a   
physical form with superhuman strength1 
has any necessary connection with the   
moral impression of the visionary ,death
 of ,milton4 ,there seems to be here    
some radical mistake in ,mr4 ,west's    
theory4 ,the moral attributes of death  
are powers and effects of an infinitely 
wide and general description1 which no  
individual or physical form can possibly
 represent1 but by courtesy of speech or
 by a distant analogy4 ,the moral       
impression of ,death is essentially     
visionary2 its reality is in the mind's 
eye4 ,words are here the only things2   
and things1 physical forms1 the mere    
mockeries of the understanding4 ,the    
less definite the conception1 the less  
bodily1 the more vast1 unformed1 and    
unsubstantial1 the nearer does it       

approach to some resemblance of that    
omnipresent1 lasting1 universal1        
irresistible principle1 which           
everywhere1 and at some time or other1  
exerts its power over all things4 ,death
 is a mighty abstraction1 like ,night1  
or ,space1 or ,time4 ,he is an ugly     
customer1 who will not be invited to    
supper1 or to sit for his picture4 ,he  
is with us and about us1 but we do not  
see him4 ,he stalks on before us1 and we
 do not mind him2 he follows us behind1 
and we do not look back at him4 ,we do  
not see him making faces at us in our   
lifetime6 we do not feel him tickling   
our bare ribs afterwards1 nor look at   
him through the empty grating of our    
hollow eyes6 ,does ,mr4 ,west really    
suppose that he has put the very image  
of ,death upon his canvas2 that he has  
taken the fear of him out of our hearts2
 that he has circumscribed his power    
with a pair of compasses2 that he has   
measured the length of his arm with a   
two-foot rule2 that he has suspended the

 stroke of his dart with a stroke of his
 pencil2 that he has laid his hands on  
the universal principle of destruction1 
and hemmed him in with lines and        
lineaments1 and made a gazing-stock and 
a show of him1 #8under the patronage of 
the ,prince ,regent' 7as that           
illustrious person has taken1 and       
confined1 and made a show of another    
enemy of the human race7--so that the   
work of decay and dissolution is no     
longer going on in nature2 that all we  
have heard or felt of death is but a    
fable compared with this distinct1      
living1 and warranted likeness of him8  
,oh no6 ,there is no power in the pencil
 actually to embody an abstraction1 to  
impound the imagination1 to circumvent  
the powers of the soul1 which hold      
communion with the universe4 ,the       
painter cannot make the general         
particular1 the infinite and imaginary  
defined and palpable1 that which is only
 believed and dreaded1 an object of     
sight4  ,as ,mr4 ,west appears to have  

wrong notions of the powers of his art1 
so he seems not to put in practice all  
that it is capable of4 ,the only way in 
which the painter of genius can         
represent the force of moral truth1 is  
by translating it into an artificial    
language of his own1--by substituting   
hieroglyphics for words1 and presenting 
the closest and most striking affinities
 his fancy and observation can suggest  
between the general idea and the visible
 illustration of it4 ,here we think ,mr4
 ,west has failed4 ,the artist has      
represented ,death riding over his      
prostrate victims in all the rage of    
impotent despair4 ,he is in a great     
splutter1 and seems making a last effort
 to frighten his foes by an explosion of
 red-hot thunderbolts1 and a pompous    
display of his allegorical              
paraphernalia4 ,he has not the calm1    
still1 majestic form of ,death1 killing 
by a look1--withering by a touch4 ,his  
presence does not make the still air    
cold4 ,his flesh is not stony or        

cadaverous1 but is crusted over with a  
yellow glutinous paste1 as if it had    
been baked in a pye4 ,milton makes      
,death #8grin horrible a ghastly smile1'
 with an evident allusion to the common 
,death's head2 but in the picture he    
seems grinning for a wager1 with a full 
row of loose rotten teeth2 and his      
terrible form is covered with a long    
black drapery1 which would cut a figure 
in an undertaker's shop1 and which cuts 
a figure where it is 7for it is finely  
painted71 but which serves only as a    
disguise for the ,king of ,terrors4 ,we 
have no idea of such a swaggering and   
blustering ,death as this of ,mr4       
,west's4 ,he has not invoked a ghastly  
spectre from the tomb1 but has called up
 an old squalid ruffian from a night    
cellar1 and crowned him #8monarch of the
 universal world4' ,the horse on which  
he rides is not #8pale1' but white4     
,there is no gusto1 no imagination in   
,mr4 ,west's colouring4 ,as to his      
figure1 the description gives an        

accurate idea of it enough4 #8,his horse
 rushes forward with the universal      
wildness of a tempestuous element1      
breathing livid pestilence1 and rearing 
and trampling with the vehemence of     
unbridled fury4' ,the style of the      
figure corresponds to the style of the  
description4 ,it is overloaded and      
top-heavy4 ,the chest of the animal is a
 great deal too long for the legs4  ,the
 painter has made amends for this       
splashing figure of the ,pale ,horse1 by
 those of the ,white and ,red ,horse4   
,they are like a couple of              
rocking-horses1 and go as easy4 ,mr4    
,west's vicarious egotism obtrudes      
itself again offensively in speaking of 
the ,rider on the ,white ,horse4 #8,as  
he is supposed1' says the ,catalogue1   
#8to represent the ,gospel1 it was      
requisite that he should be invested    
with those exterior indications of      
purity1 excellence1 and dignity1 which  
are associated in our minds with the    
name and offices of the ,messiah4 ,but  

it was not ,,the ,,saviour healing and  
comforting the afflicted1 or the meek   
and lowly ,,jesus1 bearing with         
resignation the scorn and hatred of the 
scoffing multitude1 that was to be      
represented2--it was the ,king of ,kings
 going forth1 conquering and to conquer4
 ,he is therefore painted with a solemn 
countenance1 expressive of a mind filled
 with the thoughts of a great           
enterprise2 and he advances onward in   
his sublime career with that serene     
,majesty1' c4 ,now this is surely an    
unwarrantable assumption of public      
opinion in a matter of taste4 ,christ is
 not represented in this picture as he  
was in ,mr4 ,west's two former pictures2
 but in all three he gives you to       
understand that he has reflected the    
true countenance and divine character of
 the ,messiah4 ,multum abludit imago4   
,the ,christs in each picture have a    
different character indeed1 but they    
only present a variety of meanness and  
insipidity4 ,but the unwary spectator1  

who looks at the catalogue to know what 
he is to think of the picture1 and reads
 all these therefores of sublimity1     
serenity1 purity1 c4 considers them as  
so many infallible inferences and       
demonstrations of the painter's skill4  
,mr4 ,west has been tolerably successful
 in the delineation of the neutral      
character of the #8,man on the ,black   
,horse2' but #8the two wretched         
emaciated figures' of a man and woman   
before him1 #8absorbed in the feelings  
of their own particular misery1' are not
 likely to excite any sympathy in the   
beholders4 ,they exhibit the lowest     
stage of mental and physical imbecility1
 that could never by any possibility    
come to any good4 ,in the domestic      
groupe in the foreground1 #8the painter 
has attempted to excite the strongest   
degree of pity which his subject        
admitted1 and to contrast the           
surrounding objects with images of      
tenderness and beauty2' and it is here  
that he has principally failed4 ,the    

,dying ,mother appears to have been in  
her lifetime a plaster-cast from the    
antique1 stained with a little purple   
and yellow1 to imitate the life4 ,the   
#8,lovely ,infant' that is falling from 
her breast1 is a hideous little         
creature1 with glazed eyes1 and livid   
aspect1 borrowed from the infant who is 
falling out of his mother's lap over the
 bridge1 in ,hogarth's ,print of        
,gin-,lane4 ,the ,husband's features1   
who is placed in so pathetic an         
attitude1 are cut out of the hardest    
wood1 and of the deepest dye2 and the   
surviving ,daughter1 who is stated #8to 
be sensible only to the loss she has    
sustained by the death of so kind a     
parent1' is neither better nor worse    
than the figures we meet with in the    
elegant frontispieces to history-books1 
or family stories1 intended as          
,christmas presents to good little boys 
and girls4 ,the foreshortening of the   
lower extremities1 both of the ,mother  
and ,child1 is wretchedly defective1    

either in drawing and colouring4  ,in   
describing #8the anarchy of the combats 
of men with beasts1' ,mr4 ,west has     
attained that sort of excellence which  
always arises from a knowledge of the   
rules of composition4 ,his lion1        
however1 looks as if his face and velvet
 paws were covered with calf's skin1 or 
leather gloves pulled carefully over    
them4 ,so little is the appearance of   
hair given6 ,the youth in this group1   
whom ,mr4 ,west celebrates for his      
muscular manly courage1 has a fine      
rustic look of health and strength about
 him2 but we think the other figure1    
with scowling swarthy face1 striking at 
an animal1 is superior in force of      
character and expression4 ,in the back  
figure of the man holding his hand to   
his head1 7with no very dignified       
action71 the artist has well imitated   
the bad colouring1 and stiff inanimate  
drawing of ,poussin4 ,the remaining     
figures are not of much importance1 or  
are striking only from their defects4   

,mr4 ,west1 however1 omits no           
opportunity of discreetly sounding his  
own praise4 #8,the story of this group1'
 it is said1 #8would have been          
incomplete1 had the lions not been shown
 conquerors to a certain extent1 by the 
two wounded men1' c4 ,as it is1 it is   
perfect6 ,admirable critic6 ,again we   
are told1 #8,the pyramidal form of this 
large division is perfected by a furious
 bull1' c4 ,nay1 indeed1 the form of the
 pyramid is even preserved in the       
title-page of the catalogue4 ,the       
prettiest incident in the picture is the
 dove lamenting over its mate1 just     
killed by the serpent4 ,we do not deny  
,mr4 ,west the praise of invention4     
,upon the whole1 we think this the best 
coloured and most picturesque of all    
,mr4 ,west's productions2 and in all    
that relates to composition1 and the    
introduction of the adjuncts of         
historical design1 it shows1 like his   
other works1 the hand of a master4 ,in  
the same room is the picture of ,christ 

,rejected4 ,alas6 how changed1 and in   
how short a time6 ,the colours are      
scarcely dry1 and it already looks      
dingy1 flat1 and faded4                 
,,on ,,williams',s ,,views ,,in ,,greece
   ,there has been lately exhibited at  
the ,calton ,convening ,room1           
,edinburgh1 a collection of views in    
,greece1 ,italy1 ,sicily1 and the       
,ionian ,isles1 painted in water colours
 by ,mr4 ,hugh ,williams1 a native of   
,scotland1 which themselves do honour to
 the talents of the artist1 as the      
attention they have excited does to the 
taste of the northern capital4 ,it is   
well2 for the exhibition in that town of
 the works of living artists 7to answer 
to our ,somerset-,house exhibition7     
required some set-off4 ,mr4 ,williams   
has made the amende honorable1 for his  
country1 to the offended genius of art1 
and has stretched out under the         
far-famed ,calton ,hill1 and in the eye 
of ,arthur's ,seat1 fairy visions of the
 fair land of ,greece1 that ,edinburgh  

belles and beaux repair to see with     
cautious wonder and well-regulated      
delight4 ,it is really a most agreeable 
novelty to the passing visitant to see  
the beauty of the ,north1 the radiant   
beauty of the ,north1 enveloped in such 
an atmosphere1 and set off by such a    
back-ground4 ,oriental skies pour their 
molten lustre on ,caledonian charms4    
,the slender1 lovely1 taper waist 7made 
more taper1 more lovely1 more slender by
 the stay-maker71 instead of being cut  
in two by the keen blasts that rage in  
,prince's street1 is here supported by  
warm languid airs1 and a thousand sighs1
 that breathe from the vale of ,tempe4  
,do not those fair tresses look brighter
 as they are seen hanging over a hill in
 ,arcadia1 than when they come in       
contact with the hard grey rock of the  
castle8 ,do not those fair blue eyes    
look more translucent as they glance    
over some classic stream8 ,what can vie 
with that alabaster skin but marble     
temples1 dedicated to the ,queen of     

,love8 ,what can match those golden     
freckles but glittering sun-sets behind 
,mount ,olympus8 ,here1 in one corner of
 the room1 stands the ,hill of the      
,muses1 and there is a group of ,graces 
under it6 ,there played the ,,nine on   
immortal lyres1 and here sit the        
critical but admiring ,scottish fair1   
with the catalogue in their hands1      
reading the quotations from ,lord       
,byron's verses with liquid eyes and    
lovely vermilion lips--would that they  
spoke ,english1 or any thing but        
,scotch6--,poor is this irony6 ,vain the
 attempt to reconcile ,scottish figures 
with ,attic scenery6 ,what land can     
rival ,greece8 ,what earthly flowers can
 compare with the colours in the sky8   
,what living beauty can recall the dead8
 ,for in that word1 ,,greece1 there     
breathe three thousand years of fame    
that has no date to come6 ,over that    
land hovers a light1 brighter than that 
of suns1 softer than that which vernal  
skies shed on halcyon seas1 the light   

that rises from the tomb of virtue1     
genius1 liberty6 ,oh6 thou ,uranian     
,venus1 thou that never art1 but wast   
and art to be2 thou that the eye sees   
not1 but that livest for ever in the    
heart2 thou whom men believe and know to
 be1 for thou dwellest in the desires   
and longings1 and hunger of the mind2   
thou that art a ,goddess1 and we thy    
worshippers1 say dost thou not smile for
 ever on this land of ,greece1 and shed 
thy purple light over it1 and blend thy 
choicest blandishments with its magic   
name8 ,but here 7in the ,calton         
,convening ,room1 in ,waterloo place1   
close under the ,melville               
monument--strange contradiction67       
another ,greece grows on the            
walls--other skies are to be seen1      
ancient temples rise1 and modern        
,grecian ladies walk4 ,here towers      
,mount ,olympus1 where ,gods once       
sat--that is the top of a hill in       
,arcadia--7who would think that the eyes
 would ever behold a form so visionary1 

that they would ever see an image of    
that1 which seems only a delicious      
vanished sound87 this is ,corinth--that 
is the ,parthenon--there stands ,thebes 
in ,botia--that is the ,plain of        
,plata1--yonder is the city of          
,syracuse1 and the ,temple of ,minerva  
,sunias1 and there the site of the      
gardens of ,alcinous4                   
#8,close to the gate a spacious garden  
lies1             ,from storms defended1
 and inclement skies2             ,tall 
thriving trees confess the fruitful     
mould1             ,the reddening apple 
ripens here to gold4             ,here  
the blue fig with luscious juice        
o'erflows1             ,with deeper red 
the full pomegranate glows2             
,the branch here bends beneath the      
weighty pear1             ,and verdant  
olives flourish round the year4         
,the balmy spirit of the western gale   
,eternal breathes on fruits1 untaught to
 fail2             ,the same mild season
 gives the blooms to blow1              

,the buds to harden1 and the fruit to   
grow4'  ,this is ,pope's description of 
them in the ,odyssey1 which 7we must    
say7 is very bad1 and if ,mr4 ,williams 
had not given us a more distinct idea of
 the places he professes to describe1 we
 should not have gone out of our way to 
notice them4 ,as works of art1 these    
water-colour drawings deserve very high 
praise4 ,the drawing is correct and     
characteristic3 the colouring chaste1   
rich1 and peculiar2 the finishing       
generally careful2 and the selection of 
points of view striking and picturesque4
 ,we have at once an impressive and     
satisfactory idea of the country of     
which we have heard so much2 and wish to
 visit places which1 it seems from this 
representation of them1 would not bely  
all that we have heard4 ,some splenetic 
travellers have pretended that ,attica  
was dry1 flat1 and barren4 ,but it is   
not so in ,mr4 ,williams's authentic    
draughts2 and we thank him for restoring
 to us our old1 and1 as it appears1 true

 illusion--for crowning that ,elysium of
 our school-boy fancies with majestic   
hills1 and scooping it into lovely      
winding valleys once more4 ,lord ,byron 
is1 we believe1 among those who have    
spoken ill of ,greece1 calling it a     
#8sand-bank1' or something of that sort4
 ,every ill-natured traveller ought to  
hold a pencil as well as a pen in his   
hand1 and be forced to produce a sketch 
of his own lie4 ,as to the subjects of  
,mr4 ,williams's pencil1 nothing can    
exceed the local interest that belongs  
to them1 and which he has done nothing1 
either through injudicious selection1 or
 negligent execution1 to diminish4      
,quere4 ,is not this interest as great  
in ,london as it is in ,edinburgh8 ,in  
other words1 we mean to ask1 whether    
this exhibition would not answer well in
 ,london4  ,there are a number of other 
very interesting sketches interspersed1 
and some very pleasing home views1 which
 seem to show that nature is everywhere 
herself4                                

,,on ,,the ,,elgin ,,marbles            
#8,who to the life an exact piece would 
make            ,must not from others'  
work a copy take2            ,no1 not   
from ,rubens or ,vandyke3               
,much less content himself to make it   
like            ,th' ideas and the      
images which lie            ,in his own 
,fancy or his ,memory4            ,no3  
he before his sight must place          
,the natural and living face2           
,the real object must command           
,each judgment of his eye and motion of 
his hand4'  ,the true lesson to be      
learnt by our students and professors   
from the ,elgin marbles1 is the one     
which the ingenious and honest ,cowley  
has expressed in the above spirited     
lines4 ,the great secret is to recur at 
every step to nature--                  
#8,to learn              ,her manner1   
and with rapture taste her style4'  ,it 
is evident to any one who views these   
admirable remains of ,antiquity 7nay1 it
 is acknowledged by our artists         

themselves1 in despite of all the       
melancholy sophistry which they have    
been taught or have been teaching others
 for half a century7 that the chief     
excellence of the figures depends on    
their having been copied from nature1   
and not from imagination4 ,the          
communication of art with nature is here
 everywhere immediate1 entire1 palpable4
 ,the artist gives himself no fastidious
 airs of superiority over what he sees4 
,he has not arrived1 at that stage of   
his progress described at much length in
 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's ,discourses1  
in which having served out his          
apprenticeship to nature1 he can set up 
for himself in opposition to her4       
,according to the old ,greek form of    
drawing up the indentures in this case1 
we apprehend they were to last for life4
 ,at least1 we can compare these        
,marbles to nothing but human figures   
petrified3 they have every appearance of
 absolute fac-similes or casts taken    
from nature4 ,the details are those of  

nature2 the masses are those of nature2 
the forms are from nature2 the action is
 from nature2 the whole is from nature4 
,let any one1 for instance1 look at the 
leg of the ,ilissus or ,river-,god1     
which is bent under him--let him observe
 the swell and undulation of the calf1  
the inter-texture of the muscles1 the   
distinction and union of all the parts1 
and the effect of action every where    
impressed on the external form1 as if   
the very marble were a flexible         
substance1 and contained the various    
springs of life and motion within       
itself1 and he will own that art and    
nature are here the same thing4 ,it is  
the same in the back of the ,theseus1 in
 the thighs and knees1 and in all that  
remains unimpaired of these two noble   
figures4 ,it is not the same in the cast
 7which was shown at ,lord ,elgin's7 of 
the famous ,torso by ,michael ,angelo1  
the style of which that artist appears  
to have imitated too well4 ,there every 
muscle has obviously the greatest       

prominence and force given to it of     
which it is capable in itself1 not of   
which it is capable in connexion with   
others4 ,this fragment is an            
accumulation of mighty parts1 without   
that play and re-action of each part    
upon the rest1 without that #8alternate 
action and repose' which ,sir ,thomas   
,lawrence speaks of as characteristic of
 the ,theseus and the ,ilissus1 and     
which are as inseparable from nature as 
waves from the sea4 ,the learned1       
however1 here make a distinction1 and   
suppose that the truth of nature is1 in 
the ,elgin ,marbles1 combined with ideal
 forms4 ,if by ideal forms they mean    
fine natural forms1 we have nothing to  
object2 but if they mean that the       
sculptors of the ,theseus and ,ilissus  
got the forms out of their own heads1   
and then tacked the truth of nature to  
them1 we can only say1 #8,let them look 
again1 let them look again4' ,we        
consider the ,elgin ,marbles as a       
demonstration of the impossibility of   

separating art from nature without a    
proportionable loss at every remove4    
,the utter absence of all setness of    
appearance proves that they were done as
 studies from actual models4 ,the       
separate parts of the human body may be 
given from scientific knowledge3--their 
modifications or inflections can only be
 learnt by seeing them in action2 and   
the truth of nature is incompatible with
 ideal form1 if the latter is meant to  
exclude actually existing form4 ,the    
mutual action of the parts cannot be    
determined where the object itself is   
not seen4 ,that the forms of these      
statues are not common nature1 such as  
we see it every day1 we readily allow3  
that they were not select ,greek nature1
 we see no convincing reason to suppose4
 ,that truth of nature1 and ideal or    
fine form1 are not always or generally  
united1 we know2 but how they can ever  
be united in art1 without being first   
united in nature1 is to us a mystery1   
and one that we as little believe as    

understand6  ,suppose1 for              
illustration's sake1 that these ,marbles
 were originally done as casts from     
actual nature1 and then let us inquire  
whether they would not have possessed   
all the same qualities that they now    
display1 granting only1 that the forms  
were in the first instance selected with
 the eye of taste1 and disposed with    
knowledge of the art and of the subject4
  ,first1 the larger masses and         
proportions of entire limbs and         
divisions of the body would have been   
found in the casts1 for they would have 
been found in nature4 ,the back and     
trunk1 and arms1 and legs1 and thighs   
would have been there1 for these are    
parts of the natural man or actual      
living body1 and not inventions of the  
artist1 or ideal creations borrowed from
 the skies4 ,there would have been the  
same sweep in the back of the ,theseus2 
the same swell in the muscles of the arm
 on which he leans2 the same division of
 the leg into calf and small1 i4e4 the  

same general results1 or aggregation of 
parts1 in the principal and most        
striking divisions of the body4 ,the    
upper part of the arm would have been   
thicker than the lower1 the thighs      
larger than the legs1 the body larger   
than the thighs1 in a cast taken from   
common nature2 and in casts taken from  
the finest nature they would have been  
so in the same proportion1 form1 and    
manner1 as in the statue of the         
,theseus1 if the ,theseus answers to the
 idea of the finest nature2 for the idea
 and the reality must be the same2 only1
 we contend that the idea is taken from 
the reality1 instead of existing by     
itself1 or being the creature of fancy4 
,that is1 there would be the same       
grandeur of proportions and parts in a  
cast taken from finely developed nature1
 such as the ,greek sculptors had       
constantly before them1 naked and in    
action1 that we find in the limbs and   
masses of bone1 flesh1 and muscle1 in   
these much and justly admired remains4  

,again1 and incontestibly1 there would  
have been1 besides the grandeur of form1
 all the minuti and individual details  
in the cast that subsist in nature1 and 
that find no place in the theory of     
ideal art--in the omission of which1    
indeed1 its very grandeur is made to    
consist4 ,the ,elgin ,marbles give a    
flat contradiction to this gratuitous   
separation of grandeur of design and    
exactness of detail1 as incompatible in 
works of art1 and we conceive that1 with
 their whole ponderous weight to crush  
it1 it will be difficult to set this    
theory on its legs again4 ,in these     
majestic colossal figures1 nothing is   
omitted1 nothing is made out by         
negation4 ,the veins1 the wrinkles in   
the skin1 the indications of the muscles
 under the skin 7which appear as plainly
 to the anatomist as the expert angler  
knows from an undulation on the surface 
of the water what fish is playing with  
his bait beneath it71 the finger-joints1
 the nails1 every the smallest part     

cognizable to the naked eye1 is given   
here with the same ease and exactness1  
with the same prominence1 and the same  
subordination1 that it would be in a    
cast from nature1 i4e41 in nature       
itself4 ,therefore1 so far these things1
 viz41 nature1 a cast from it1 and the  
,elgin ,marbles1 are the same2 and all  
three are opposed to the fashionable and
 fastidious theory of the ideal4 ,look  
at ,sir ,joshua's picture of ,puck1 one 
of his finest-coloured1 and most        
spirited performances4 ,the fingers are 
mere spuds1 and we doubt whether any one
 can make out whether there are four    
toes or five allowed to each of the     
feet4 ,if there had been a young        
,silenus among the ,elgin ,marbles1 we  
don't know that in some particulars it  
would have surpassed ,sir ,joshua's     
masterly sketch1 but we are sure that   
the extremities1 the nails1 c4 would    
have been studies of natural history4   
,the life1 the spirit1 the character of 
the grotesque and imaginary little being

 would not have made an abortion of any 
part of his natural growth or form4     
,farther1 in a cast from nature there   
would be1 as a matter of course1 the    
same play and flexibility of limb and   
muscle1 or1 as ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence   
expresses it1 the same #8alternate      
action and repose1' that we find so     
admirably displayed in the ,elgin       
,marbles4 ,it seems here as if stone    
could move3 where one muscle is         
strained1 another is relaxed1 where one 
part is raised1 another sinks in1 just  
as in the ocean1 where the waves are    
lifted up in one place1 they sink       
proportionally low in the next3 and all 
this modulation and affection of the    
different parts of the form by others   
arise from an attentive and             
co-instantaneous observation of the     
parts of a flexible body1 where the     
muscles and bones act upon1 and         
communicate with1 one another like the  
ropes and pullies in a machine1 and     
where the action or position given to a 

particular limb or membrane naturally   
extends to the whole body4 ,this        
harmony1 this combination of motion1    
this unity of spirit diffused through   
the wondrous mass and every part of it1 
is the glory of the ,elgin              
,marbles3--put a well-formed human body 
in the same position1 and it will       
display the same character throughout2  
make a cast from it while in that       
position and action1 and we shall still 
see the same bold1 free1 and            
comprehensive truth of design4 ,there is
 no alliteration or antithesis in the   
style of the ,elgin ,marbles1 no        
setness1 squareness1 affectation1 or    
formality of appearance4 ,the different 
muscles do not present a succession of  
tumuli1 each heaving with big throes to 
rival the other4 ,if one is raised1 the 
other falls quietly into its place4     
,neither do the different parts of the  
body answer to one another1 like        
shoulder-knots on a lacquey's coat or   
the different ornaments of a building4  

,the sculptor does not proceed on       
architectural principles4 ,his work has 
the freedom1 the variety1 and stamp of  
nature4 ,the form of corresponding parts
 is indeed the same1 but it is subject  
to inflection from different            
circumstances4 ,there is no primness or 
petit matre-ship1 as in some of the     
later antiques1 where the artist seemed 
to think that flesh was glass or some   
other brittle substance2 and that if it 
were put out of its exact shape it would
 break in pieces4 ,here1 on the         
contrary1 if the foot of one leg is bent
 under the body1 the leg itself         
undergoes an entire alteration4 ,if one 
side of the body is raised above the    
other1 the original1 or abstract1 or    
ideal form of the two sides is not      
preserved strict and inviolable1 but    
varies as it necessarily must do in     
conformity to the law of gravitation1 to
 which all bodies are subject4 ,in this 
respect1 a cast from nature would be the
 same4 ,mr4 ,chantrey once made a cast  

from ,wilson the ,black4 ,he put him    
into an attitude at first1 and made the 
cast1 but not liking the effect when    
done1 got him to sit again and made use 
of the plaister of ,paris once more4 ,he
 was satisfied with the result2 but     
,wilson1 who was tired with going       
through the operation1 as soon as it was
 over1 went and leaned upon a block of  
marble with his hands covering his face4
 ,the sagacious sculptor was so struck  
with the superiority of this natural    
attitude over those into which he had   
been arbitrarily put that he begged him 
7if possible7 to continue in it for     
another quarter of an hour1 and another 
impression was taken off4 ,all three    
casts remain1 and the last is a proof of
 the superiority of nature over art4    
,the effect of lassitude is visible in  
every part of the frame1 and the strong 
feeling of this affection1 impressed on 
every limb and muscle1 and venting      
itself naturally in an involuntary      
attitude which gave immediate relief1 is

 that which strikes every one who has   
seen this fine study from the life4 ,the
 casts from this man's figure have been 
much admired3--it is from no superiority
 of form3 it is merely that1 being taken
 from nature1 they bear her #8image and 
superscription4'  ,as to expression1 the
 ,elgin ,marbles 7at least the ,ilissus 
and ,theseus7 afford no examples1 the   
heads being gone4  ,lastly1 as to the   
ideal form1 we contend it is nothing but
 a selection of fine nature1 such as it 
was seen by the ancient ,greek          
sculptors2 and we say that a sufficient 
approximation to this form may be found 
in our own country1 and still more in   
other countries1 at this day1 to warrant
 the clear conclusion that1 under more  
favourable circumstances of climate1    
manners1 c4 no vain imagination of the  
human mind could come up to entire      
natural forms2 and that actual casts    
from ,greek models would rival the      
common ,greek statues1 or surpass them  
in the same proportion and manner as the

 ,elgin ,marbles do4 ,or if this        
conclusion should be doubted1 we are    
ready at any time to produce at least   
one cast from living nature1 which if it
 does not furnish practical proof of all
 that we have here advanced1 we are     
willing to forfeit the last thing we can
 afford to part with--a theory6  ,if    
then the ,elgin ,marbles are to be      
considered as authority in subjects of  
art1 we conceive the following          
principles1 which have not hitherto been
 generally received or acted upon in    
,great ,britain1 will be found to result
 from them3--  #a4 ,that art is 7first  
and last7 the imitation of nature4  #b4 
,that the highest art is the imitation  
of the finest nature1 that is to say1 of
 that which conveys the strongest sense 
of pleasure or power1 of the sublime or 
beautiful4  #c4 ,that the ideal is only 
the selecting a particular form which   
expresses most completely the idea of a 
given character or quality1 as of       
beauty1 strength1 activity1             

voluptuousness1 c4 and which preserves  
that character with the greatest        
consistency throughout4  #d4 ,that the  
historical is nature in action4 ,with   
regard to the face1 it is expression4   
#e4 ,that grandeur consists in          
connecting a number of parts into a     
whole1 and not in leaving out the parts4
  #f4 ,that as grandeur is the principle
 of connexion between different parts1  
beauty is the principle of affinity     
between different forms1 or rather      
gradual conversion into each other4 ,the
 one harmonizes1 the other aggrandizes  
our impressions of things4  #g4 ,that   
grace is the beautiful or harmonious in 
what relates to position or motion4  #h4
 ,that grandeur of motion is unity of   
motion4  #i4 ,that strength is the      
giving the extremes1 softness1 the      
uniting them4  #aj4 ,that truth is to a 
certain degree beauty and grandeur1     
since all things are connected1 and all 
things modify one another in nature4    
,simplicity is also grand and beautiful 

for the same reason4 ,elegance is ease  
and lightness1 with precision4  ,all    
this we have1 we believe1 said before2  
we shall proceed to such proofs or      
explanations as we are able to give of  
it in another article4                  
99       99       99       99       99  
,at the conclusion of a former article  
on this subject1 we ventured to lay down
 some general principles1 which we shall
 here proceed to elucidate in such      
manner as we are able4  #a4 ,the first  
was1 that art is 7first and last7 the   
imitation of nature4  ,by nature1 we    
mean actually existing nature1 or some  
one object to be found in rerum natur1  
not an idea of nature existing solely in
 the mind1 got from an infinite number  
of different objects1 but which was     
never yet embodied in an individual     
instance4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds may be 
ranked at the head of those who have    
maintained the supposition that nature  
7or the universe of things7 was indeed  
the groundwork or foundation on which   

art rested2 but that the superstructure 
rose above it1 that it towered by       
degrees above the world of realities1   
and was suspended in the regions of     
thought alone--that a middle form1 a    
more refined idea1 borrowed from the    
observation of a number of particulars1 
but unlike any of them1 was the standard
 of truth and beauty1 and the glittering
 phantom that hovered round the head of 
the genuine artist3                     
#8,so from the ground         ,springs  
lighter the green stalk1 from thence the
 leaves         ,more airy1 last the    
bright consummate flower6'  ,we have no 
notion of this vague1 equivocal theory  
of art1 and contend1 on the other hand1 
that each image in art should have a    
tally or corresponding prototype in some
 object in nature4 ,otherwise1 we do not
 see the use of art at all3 it is a mere
 superfluity1 an incumbrance to the     
mind1 a piece of #8laborious            
foolery'--for the word1 the mere name of
 any object or class of objects will    

convey the general idea1 more free from 
particular details or defects than any  
the most neutral and indefinite         
representation that can be produced by  
forms and colours4 ,the word ,man1 for  
instance1 conveys a more filmy1         
impalpable1 abstracted1 and 7according  
to this hypothesis7 sublime idea of the 
species1 than ,michael ,angelo's ,adam1 
or any real image can possibly do4 ,if  
this then is the true object of art1 the
 language of painting1 sculpture1 c4    
becomes quite supererogatory4 ,sir      
,joshua and the rest contend1 that      
nature 7properly speaking7 does not     
express any single individual1 nor the  
whole mass of things as they exist1 but 
a general principle1 a something common 
to all these1 retaining the perfections1
 that is1 all in which they are alike1  
and abstracting the defects1 namely1 all
 in which they differ3 so that1 out of  
actual nature1 we compound an artificial
 nature1 never answering to the former  
in any one part of its mock-existence1  

and which last is the true object of    
imitation to the aspiring artist4 ,let  
us adopt this principle of abstraction  
as the rule of perfection1 and see what 
havoc it will make in all our notions   
and feelings in such matters4 ,if the   
perfect is the intermediate1 why not    
confound all objects1 all forms1 all    
colours at once8 ,instead of painting a 
landscape with blue sky1 or white       
clouds1 or green earth1 or grey rocks   
and towers2 what should we say if the   
artist 7so named7 were to treat all     
these #8fair varieties' as so many      
imperfections and mistakes in the       
creation1 and mass them altogether1 by  
mixing up the colours on his palette in 
the same dull1 leaden tone1 and call    
this the true principle of epic         
landscape-painting8 ,would not the thing
 be abominable1 an abortion1 and worse  
than the worst ,dutch picture8 ,variety 
then is one principle1 one beauty in    
external nature1 and not an everlasting 
source of pettiness and deformity1 which

 must be got rid of at all events1      
before taste can set its seal upon the  
work1 or fancy own it4 ,but it may be   
said1 it is different in things of the  
same species1 and particularly in man1  
who is cast in a regular mould1 which   
mould is one4 ,what then1 are we1 on    
this pretext1 to confound the difference
 of sex in a sort of hermaphrodite      
softness1 as ,mr4 ,westall1 ,angelica   
,kauffman1 and others1 have done in     
their effeminate performances8 ,are we  
to leave out of the scale of legitimate 
art1 the extremes of infancy and old    
age1 as not middle terms in man's life8 
,are we to strike off from the list of  
available topics and sources of         
interest1 the varieties of character1 of
 passion1 of strength1 activity1 c48 ,is
 everything to wear the same form1 the  
same colour1 the same unmeaning face8   
,are we only to repeat the same average 
idea of perfection1 that is1 our own    
want of observation and imagination1 for
 ever1 and to melt down the inequalities

 and excrescences of individual nature  
in the monotony of abstraction8 ,oh no6 
,as well might we prefer the cloud to   
the rainbow2 the dead corpse to the     
living moving body6 ,so ,sir ,joshua    
debated upon ,rubens's landscapes1 and  
has a whole chapter to inquire whether  
accidents in nature1 that is1 rainbows1 
moonlight1 sun-sets1 clouds and storms1 
are the proper thing in the classical   
style of art4 ,again1 it is urged that  
this is not what is meant1 viz4 to      
exclude different classes or characters 
of things1 but that there is in each    
class or character a middle point1 which
 is the point of perfection4 ,what      
middle point8 ,or how is it ascertained8
 ,what is the middle age of childhood8  
,or are all children to be alike1 dark  
or fair8 ,some of ,titian's children    
have black hair1 and others yellow or   
auburn3 who can tell which is the most  
beautiful8 ,may not a ,st4 ,john be     
older than an infant ,christ8 ,must not 
a ,magdalen be different from a         

,madonna1 a ,diana from a ,venus8 ,or   
may not a ,venus have more or less      
gravity1 a ,diana more or less          
sweetness8 ,what then becomes of the    
abstract idea in any of these cases8 ,it
 varies as it does in nature2 that is1  
there is indeed a general principle or  
character to be adhered to1 but modified
 everlastingly by various other given or
 nameless circumstances4 ,the highest   
art1 like nature1 is a living spring of 
unconstrained excellence1 and does not  
produce a continued repetition of       
itself1 like plaster-casts from the same
 figure4 ,but once more it may be       
insisted1 that in what relates to mere  
form or organic structure1 there is     
necessarily a middle line or central    
point1 anything short of which is       
deficiency1 and anything beyond it      
excess1 being the average form to which 
all the other forms included in the same
 species tend1 and approximate more or  
less4 ,then this average form as it     
exists in nature should be taken as the 

model for art4 ,what occasion to do it  
out of your own head1 when you can bring
 it under the cognizance of your senses8
 ,suppose a foot of a certain size and  
shape to be the standard of perfection1 
or if you will1 the mean proportion     
between all other feet4 ,how can you    
tell this so well as by seeing it8 ,how 
can you copy it so well as by having it 
actually before you8 ,but1 you will say1
 there are particular minute defects in 
the best-shaped actual foot which ought 
not to be transferred to the imitation4 
,be it so4 ,but are there not also      
particular minute beauties in the best1 
or even the worst shaped actual foot1   
which you will only discover by ocular  
inspection1 which are reducible to no   
measurement or precepts1 and which in   
finely-developed nature outweigh the    
imperfections a thousandfold1 the proper
 general form being contained there     
also1 and these being only the          
distinctly articulated parts of it1 with
 their inflections which no artist can  

carry in his head alone8 ,for instance1 
in the bronze monument of ,henry ,,vii4 
and his wife1 in ,westminster ,abbey1 by
 the famous ,torregiano1 the fingers and
 fingernails of the woman in particular 
are made out as minutely1 and1 at the   
same time1 as beautifully as it is      
possible to conceive2 yet they have     
exactly the effect that a cast taken    
from a fine female hand would have1 with
 every natural joint1 muscle1 and nerve 
in complete preservation4 ,does this    
take from the beauty or magnificence of 
the whole8 ,no3 it aggrandises it4 ,what
 then does it take from8 ,nothing but   
the conceit of the artist that he can   
paint a hand out of his own head 7that  
is1 out of nothing1 and by reducing it  
again as near as can be to nothing1 to a
 mere vague image7 that shall be better 
than any thing in nature4 ,a hand or    
foot is not one thing1 because it is one
 word or name2 and the painter of mere  
abstractions had better lay down his    
pencil at once1 and be contented to     

write the descriptions or titles under  
works of art4 ,lastly1 it may be        
objected that a whole figure can never  
be found perfect or equal2 that the most
 beautiful arm will not belong to the   
same figure as the most beautiful leg1  
and so on4 ,how is this to be remedied8 
,by taking the arm from one1 and the leg
 from the other1 and clapping them both 
on the same body8 ,that will never do2  
for however admirable in themselves1    
they will hardly agree together4 ,one   
will have a different character from the
 other2 and they will form a sort of    
natural patchwork4 ,or1 to avoid this1  
will you take neither from actual       
models1 but derive them from the        
neutralising medium of your own         
imagination4 ,worse and worse4 ,copy    
them from the same model1 the best in   
all its parts you can get2 so that1 if  
you have to alter1 you may alter as     
little as possible1 and retain nearly   
the whole substance of nature4#ej ,you  
may depend upon it that what is so      

retained1 will alone be of any specific 
value4 ,the rest may have a negative    
merit1 but will be positively good for  
nothing4 ,it will be to the vital truth 
and beauty of what is taken from the    
best nature1 like the piecing of an     
antique statue4 ,it fills a gap1 but    
nothing more4 ,it is1 in fact1 a mental 
blank4  #b4 ,this leads us to the second
 point laid down before1 which was1 that
 the highest art is the imitation of the
 finest nature1 or in other words1 of   
that which conveys the strongest sense  
of pleasure or power1 of the sublime or 
beautiful4  ,the artist does not pretend
 to invent an absolutely new class of   
objects1 without any foundation in      
nature4 ,he does not spread his palette 
on the canvas1 for the mere finery of   
the thing1 and tell us that it makes a  
brighter show than the rainbow1 or even 
than a bed of tulips4 ,he does not draw 
airy forms1 moving above the earth1     
#8gay creatures of the element1 that    
play i' th' plighted clouds1' and scorn 

the mere material existences1 the       
concrete descendants of those that came 
out of ,noah's ,ark1 and that walk1 run1
 or creep upon it4 ,no1 he does not     
paint only what he has seen in his      
mind's eye1 but the common objects that 
both he and others daily meet--rocks1   
clouds1 trees1 men1 women1 beasts1      
fishes1 birds1 or what he calls such4   
,he is then an imitator by profession4  
,he gives the appearances of things that
 exist outwardly by themselves1 and have
 a distinct and independent nature of   
their own4 ,but these know their own    
nature best2 and it is by consulting    
them that he can alone trace it truly1  
either in the immediate details1 or     
characteristic essences4 ,nature is     
consistent1 unaffected1 powerful1       
subtle3 art is forgetful1 apish1 feeble1
 coarse4 ,nature is the original1 and   
therefore right3 art is the copy1 and   
can but tread lamely in the same steps4 
,nature penetrates into the parts1 and  
moves the whole mass3 it acts with      

diversity1 and in necessary connexion2  
for real causes never forget to operate1
 and to contribute their portion4       
,where1 therefore1 these causes are     
called into play to the utmost extent   
that they ever go to1 there we shall    
have a strength and a refinement1 that  
art may imitate but cannot surpass4 ,but
 it is said that art can surpass this   
most perfect image in nature by         
combining others with it4 ,what6 by     
joining to the most perfect in its kind 
something less perfect8 ,go to1--this   
argument will not pass4 ,suppose you    
have a goblet of the finest wine that   
ever was tasted3 you will not mend it by
 pouring into it all sorts of samples of
 an inferior quality4 ,so the best in   
nature is the stint and limit of what is
 best in art3 for art can only borrow   
from nature still2 and1 moreover1 must  
borrow entire objects1 for bits only    
make patches4 ,we defy any              
landscape-painter to invent out of his  
own head1 and by jumbling together all  

the different forms of hills he ever    
saw1 by adding a bit to one1 and taking 
a bit from another1 anything equal to   
,arthur's seat1 with the appendage of   
,salisbury ,crags1 that overlook        
,edinburgh4 ,why so8 ,because there are 
no levers in the mind of man equal to   
those with which nature works at her    
utmost need4 ,no imagination can toss   
and tumble about huge heaps of earth as 
the ocean in its fury can4 ,a volcano is
 more potent to rend rocks asunder than 
the most splashing pencil4 ,the         
convulsions of nature can make a        
precipice more frightfully1 or heave the
 backs of mountains more proudly1 or    
throw their sides into waving lines more
 gracefully than all the beau idal of   
art4 ,for there is in nature not only   
greater power and scope1 but 7so to     
speak7 greater knowledge and unity of   
purpose4 ,art is comparatively weak and 
incongruous1 being at once a miniature  
and caricature of nature4 ,we grant that
 a tolerable sketch of ,arthur's seat1  

and the adjoining view1 is better than  
,primrose ,hill itself1 7dear ,primrose 
,hill6 ha6 faithless pen1 canst thou    
forget its winding slopes1 and valleys  
green1 to which all ,scotland can bring 
no parallel87 but no pencil can         
transform or dandle ,primrose ,hill 7our
 favourite ,primrose ,hill67 into a     
thing of equal character and sublimity  
with ,arthur's seat4 ,it gives us some  
pain to make this concession2 but in    
doing it1 we flatter ourselves that no  
,scotchman will have the liberality in  
any way to return us the compliment4 ,we
 do not recollect a more striking       
illustration of the difference between  
art and nature in this respect1 than    
,mr4 ,martin's very singular and1 in    
some things1 very meritorious pictures4 
,but he strives to outdo nature4 ,he    
wants to give more than she does1 or    
than his subject requires or admits4 ,he
 sub-divides his groups into infinite   
littleness1 and exaggerates his scenery 
into absolute immensity4 ,his figures   

are like rows of shiny pins2 his        
mountains are piled up one upon the back
 of the other1 like the stories of      
houses4 ,he has no notion of the moral  
principle in all art1 that a part may be
 greater than the whole4 ,he reckons    
that if one range of lofty square hills 
is good1 another range above that with  
clouds between must be better4 ,he thus 
wearies the imagination1 instead of     
exciting it4 ,we see no end of the      
journey1 and turn back in disgust4 ,we  
are tired of the effort1 we are tired of
 the monotony of this sort of           
reduplication of the same object4 ,we   
were satisfied before2 but it seems the 
painter was not1 and we naturally       
sympathise with him4 ,this craving after
 quantity is a morbid affection4 ,a     
landscape is not an architectural       
elevation4 ,you may build a house as    
high as you can lift up stones with     
pulleys and levers1 but you cannot raise
 mountains into the sky merely with the 
pencil4 ,they lose probability and      

effect by striving at too much2 and1    
with their ceaseless throes1 oppress the
 imagination of the spectator1 and bury 
the artist's fame under them4 ,the only 
error of these pictures is1 however1    
that art here puts on her seven-league  
boots1 and thinks it possible to steal a
 march upon nature4 ,mr4 ,martin might  
make ,arthur's ,seat sublime1 if he     
chose to take the thing as it is2 but he
 would be for squaring it according to  
the mould in his own imagination1 and   
for clapping another ,arthur's ,seat on 
the top of it1 to make the ,calton ,hill
 stare6 ,again1 with respect to the     
human figure4 ,this has an internal     
structure1 muscles1 bones1              
blood-vessels1 c4 by means of which the 
external surface is operated upon       
according to certain laws4 ,does the    
artist1 with all his generalizations1   
understand these1 as well as nature     
does8 ,can he predict1 with all his     
learning1 that if a certain muscle is   
drawn up in a particular manner1 it will

 present a particular appearance in a   
different part of the arm or leg1 or    
bring out other muscles1 which were     
before hid1 with certain modifications8 
,but in nature all this is brought about
 by necessary laws1 and the effect is   
visible to those1 and those only1 who   
look for it in actual objects4 ,this is 
the great and master-excellence of the  
,,elgin ,,marbles1 that they do not seem
 to be the outer surface of a hard and  
immovable block of marble1 but to be    
actuated by an internal machinery1 and  
composed of the same soft and flexible  
materials as the human body4 ,the skin  
7or the outside7 seems to be protruded  
or tightened by the natural action of a 
muscle beneath it4 ,this result is      
miraculous in art3 in nature it is easy 
and unavoidable4 ,that is to say1 art   
has to imitate or produce certain       
effects or appearances without the      
natural causes3 but the human           
understanding can hardly be so true to  
those causes as the causes to           

themselves2 and hence the necessity 7in 
this sort of simulated creation7 of     
recurring at every step to the actual   
objects and appearances of nature4      
,having shown so far how indispensable  
it is for art to identify itself with   
nature1 in order to preserve the truth  
of imitation1 without which it is       
destitute of value or meaning1 it may be
 said to follow as a necessary          
consequence1 that the only way in which 
art can rise to greater dignity or      
excellence is by finding out models of  
greater dignity and excellence in       
nature4 ,will any one1 looking at the   
,theseus1 for example1 say that it could
 spring merely from the artist's brain1 
or that it could be done from a common1 
ill-made1 or stunted body6 ,the fact is1
 that its superiority consists in this1 
that it is a perfect combination of art 
and nature1 or an identical1 and as it  
were spontaneous copy of an individual  
picked out of a finer race of men than  
generally tread this ball of earth4     

,could it be made of a ,dutchman's      
trunk-hose8 ,no4 ,could it be made out  
of one of ,sir ,joshua's ,discourses on 
the middle form8 ,no4 ,how then8 ,out of
 an eye1 a head1 and a hand1 with sense1
 spirit1 and energy to follow the finest
 nature1 as it appeared exemplified in  
sweeping masses1 and in subtle details1 
without pedantry1 conceit1 cowardice1 or
 affectation6 ,some one was asking at   
,mr4 ,h--yd--n's one day1 as a few      
persons were looking at the cast from   
this figure1 why the original might not 
have been done as a cast from nature4   
,such a supposition would account at    
least for what seems otherwise          
unaccountable--the incredible labour and
 finishing bestowed on the back and the 
other parts of this figure1 placed at a 
prodigious height against the walls of a
 temple1 where they could never be seen 
after they were once put up there4 ,if  
they were done by means of a cast in the
 first instance1 the thing appears      
intelligible1 otherwise not4 ,our host  

stoutly resisted this imputation1 which 
tended to deprive art of one of its     
greatest triumphs1 and to make it as    
mechanical as a shaded profile4 ,so far1
 so good4 ,but the reason he gave was   
bad1 viz41 that the limbs could not     
remain in those actions long enough to  
be cast4 ,yet surely this would take a  
shorter time than if the model sat to   
the sculptor2 and we all agreed that    
nothing but actual1 continued1 and      
intense observation of living nature    
could give the solidity1 complexity1 and
 refinement of imitation which we saw in
 the half animated1 almost moving figure
 before us4#ea ,be this as it may1 the  
principle here stated does not reduce   
art to the imitation of what is         
understood by common or low life4 ,it   
rises to any point of beauty or         
sublimity you please1 but it rises only 
as nature rises exalted with it too4 ,to
 hear these critics talk1 one would     
suppose there was nothing in the world  
really worth looking at4 ,the ,dutch    

pictures were the best that they could  
paint3 they had no other landscapes or  
faces before them4 ,honi soit qui mal y 
pense4 ,yet who is not alarmed at a     
,venus by ,rembrandt8 ,the ,greek       
statues were 7cum grano salis7 ,grecian 
youths and nymphs2 and the women in the 
streets of ,rome 7it has been           
remarked#eb7 look to this hour as if    
they had walked out of ,raphael's       
pictures4 ,nature is always truth3 at   
its best1 it is beauty and sublimity as 
well2 though ,sir ,joshua tells us in   
one of the papers in the ,,idler1 that  
in itself1 or with reference to         
individuals1 it is a mere tissue of     
meanness and deformity4 ,luckily1 the   
,elgin ,marbles say ,,no to that        
conclusion3 for they are decidedly part 
and parcel thereof4 ,what constitutes   
fine nature1 we shall inquire under     
another head4 ,but we would remark here1
 that it can hardly be the middle form1 
since this principle1 however it might  
determine certain general proportions   

and outlines1 could never be            
intelligible in the details of nature1  
or applicable to those of art4 ,who will
 say that the form of a finger nail is  
just midway between a thousand others   
that he has not remarked3 we are only   
struck with it when it is more than     
ordinarily beautiful1 from symmetry1 an 
oblong shape1 c4 ,the staunch partisans 
of this theory1 however1 get over the   
difficulty here spoken of1 in practice1 
by omitting the details altogether1 and 
making their works sketches1 or rather  
what the ,french call bauches and the   
,english daubs4  #c4 ,the ,,ideal is    
only the selecting a particular form    
which expresses most completely the idea
 of a given character or quality1 as of 
beauty1 strength1 activity1             
voluptuousness1 c4 and which preserves  
that character with the greatest        
consistency throughout4  ,instead of its
 being true in general that the ideal is
 the middle point1 it is to be found in 
the extremes2 or1 it is carrying any    

idea as far as it will go4 ,thus1 for   
instance1 a ,silenus is as much an ideal
 thing as an ,apollo1 as to the         
principle on which it is done1 viz41    
giving to every feature1 and to the     
whole form1 the utmost degree of        
grossness and sensuality that can be    
imagined1 with this exception 7which has
 nothing to do with the understanding of
 the question71 that the ideal means by 
custom this extreme on the side of the  
good and beautiful4 ,with this reserve1 
the ideal means always the something    
more of anything which may be           
anticipated by the fancy1 and which must
 be found in nature 7by looking long    
enough for it7 to be expressed as it    
ought4 ,suppose a good heavy ,dutch face
 7we speak by the proverb7--this1 you   
will say1 is gross2 but it is not gross 
enough4 ,you have an idea of something  
grosser1 that is1 you have seen         
something grosser and must seek for it  
again4 ,when you meet with it1 and have 
stamped it on the canvas1 or carved it  

out of the block1 this is the true      
ideal1 namely1 that which answers to and
 satisfies a preconceived idea2 not that
 which is made out of an abstract idea1 
and answers to nothing4 ,in the         
,silenus1 also1 according to the notion 
we have of the properties and character 
of that figure1 there must be vivacity1 
slyness1 wantonness1 c4 ,not only the   
image in the mind1 but a real face may  
express all these combined together2    
another may express them more1 and      
another most1 which last is the ideal2  
and when the image in nature coalesces  
with1 and gives a body1 force1 and      
reality to the idea in the mind1 then it
 is that we see the true perfection of  
art4 ,the forehead should be            
#8villainous low2' the eye-brows bent   
in2 the eyes small and gloating2 the    
nose pugged1 and pointed at the end1    
with distended nostrils2 the mouth large
 and shut2 the cheeks swollen2 the neck 
thick1 c4 ,there is1 in all this        
process1 nothing of softening down1 of  

compromising qualities1 of finding out a
 mean proportion between different forms
 and characters2 the sole object is to  
intensify each as much as possible4 ,the
 only fear is #8to o'erstep the modesty 
of nature1' and run into caricature4    
,this must be avoided2 but the artist is
 only to stop short of this4 ,he must   
not outrage probability4 ,we must have  
seen a class of such faces1 or something
 so nearly approaching1 as to prevent   
the imagination from revolting against  
them4 ,the forehead must be low1 but not
 so low as to lose the character of     
humanity in the brute4 ,it would thus   
lose all its force and meaning4 ,for    
that which is extreme and ideal in one  
species is nothing1 if1 by being pushed 
too far1 it is merged in another4 ,above
 all1 there should be keeping in the    
whole and every part4 ,in the ,pan1 the 
horns and goat's feet1 perhaps1 warrant 
the approach to a more animal expression
 than would otherwise be allowable in   
the human features2 but yet this        

tendency to excess must be restrained   
within certain limits4 ,if ,pan is made 
into a beast1 he will cease to be a     
,god6 ,let ,momus distend his jaws with 
laughter1 as far as laughter can stretch
 them1 but no farther2 or the expression
 will be that of pain and not of        
pleasure4 ,besides1 the overcharging the
 expression or action of any one feature
 will suspend the action of others4 ,the
 whole face will no longer laugh4 ,but  
this universal suffusion of broad mirth 
and humour over the countenance is very 
different from a placid smile1 midway   
between grief and joy4 ,yet a classical 
,momus1 by modern theories of the ideal1
 ought to be such a nonentity in        
expression4 ,the ancients knew better4  
,they pushed art in such subjects to the
 verge of #8all we hate1' while they    
felt the point beyond which it could not
 be urged with propriety1 i4e4 with     
truth1 consistency1 and consequent      
effect4 ,there is no difference1 in     
philosophical reasoning1 between the    

mode of art here insisted on1 and the   
ideal regularity of such figures as the 
,apollo1 the ,hercules1 the ,mercury1   
the ,venus1 c4 ,all these are1 as it    
were1 personifications1 essences1       
abstractions of certain qualities of    
virtue in human nature1 not of human    
nature in general1 which would make     
nonsense4 ,instead of being abstractions
 of all sorts of qualities jumbled      
together in a neutral character1 they   
are in the opposite sense abstractions  
of some single quality or customary     
combination of qualities1 leaving out   
all others as much as possible1 and     
imbuing every part with that one        
predominant character to the utmost4    
,the ,apollo is a representation of     
graceful dignity and mental power2 the  
,hercules of bodily strength2 the       
,mercury of swiftness2 the ,venus of    
female loveliness1 and so on4 ,in these1
 in the ,apollo is surely implied and   
found more grace than usual2 in the     
,hercules more strength than usual2 in  

the ,mercury more lightness than usual2 
in the ,venus more softness than usual4 
,is it not so8 ,what then becomes of the
 pretended middle form8 ,one would think
 it would be sufficient to prove this1  
to ask1 #8,do not these statues differ  
from one another8 ,and is this          
difference a defect8' ,it would be      
ridiculous to call them by different    
names1 if they were not supposed to     
represent different and peculiar        
characters3 sculptors should1 in that   
case1 never carve anything but the      
statue of a man1 the statue of a woman1 
c4 and this would be the name of        
perfection4 ,this theory of art is not  
at any rate justified by the history of 
art4 ,an extraordinary quantity of bone 
and muscle is as proper to the ,hercules
 as his club1 and it would be strange if
 the ,goddess of ,love had not a more   
delicately rounded form1 and a more     
languishing look withal1 than the       
,goddess of ,hunting4 ,that a form      
combining and blending the properties of

 both1 the downy softness of the one1   
with the elastic buoyancy of the other1 
would be more perfect than either1 we no
 more see than that grey is the most    
perfect of colours4 ,at any rate1 this  
is the march neither of nature nor of   
art4 ,it is not denied that these       
antique sculptures are models of the    
ideal2 nay1 it is on them that this     
theory boasts of being founded4 ,yet    
they give a flat contradiction to its   
insipid mediocrity4 ,perhaps some of    
them have a slight bias to the false    
ideal1 to the smooth and uniform1 or the
 negation of nature3 any error on this  
side is1 however1 happily set right by  
the ,,elgin ,,marbles1 which are the    
paragons of sculpture and the mould of  
form4--,as the ideal then requires a    
difference of character in each figure  
as a whole1 so it expects the same      
character 7or a corresponding one7 to be
 stamped on each part of every figure4  
,as the legs of a ,diana should be more 
muscular and adapted for running1 than  

those of a ,venus or a ,minerva1 so the 
skin of her face ought to be more tense1
 bent on her prey1 and hardened by being
 exposed to the winds of heaven4 ,the   
respective characters of lightness1     
softness1 strength1 c4 should pervade   
each part of the surface of each figure1
 but still varying according to the     
texture and functions of the individual 
part4 ,this can only be learned or      
practised from the attentive observation
 of nature in those forms in which any  
given character or excellence is most   
strikingly displayed1 and which has been
 selected for imitation and study on    
that account4--,suppose a dimple in the 
chin to be a mark of voluptuousness2    
then the ,venus should have a dimple in 
the chin2 and she has one4 ,but this    
will imply certain correspondent        
indications in other parts of the       
features1 about the corners of the      
mouth1 a gentle undulation and sinking  
in of the cheek1 as if it had just been 
pinched1 and so on3 yet so as to be     

consistent with the other qualities of  
roundness1 smoothness1 c4 which belong  
to the idea of the character4 ,who will 
get all this and embody it out of the   
idea of a middle form1 ,i cannot say3 it
 may be1 and has been1 got out of the   
idea of a number of distinct enchanting 
graces in the mind1 and from some       
heavenly object unfolded to the sight6  
#d4 ,that the historical is nature in   
action4 ,with regard to the face1 it is 
expression4  ,hogarth's pictures are    
true history4 ,every feature1 limb1     
figure1 group1 is instinct with life and
 motion4 ,he does not take a subject and
 place it in a position1 like a lay     
figure1 in which it stirs neither limb  
nor joint4 ,the scene moves before you3 
the face is like a frame-work of        
flexible machinery4 ,if the mouth is    
distorted with laughter1 the eyes swim  
in laughter4 ,if the forehead is knit   
together1 the cheeks are puckered up4   
,if a fellow squints most horribly1 the 
rest of his face is awry4 ,the muscles  

pull different ways1 or the same way1 at
 the same time1 on the surface of the   
picture1 as they do in the human body4  
,what you see is the reverse of still   
life4 ,there is a continual and complete
 action and re-action of one variable   
part upon another1 as there is in the   
,,elgin ,,marbles4 ,if you pull the     
string of a bow1 the bow itself is bent4
 ,so is it in the strings and wires that
 move the human frame4 ,the action of   
any one part1 the contraction or        
relaxation of any one muscle1 extends   
more or less perceptibly to every other3
             #8,thrills in each nerve1  
and lives along the line4'  ,thus the   
celebrated ,i of ,correggio is imbued1  
steeped1 in a manner in the same        
voluptuous feeling all over--the same   
passion languishes in her whole frame1  
and communicates the infection to the   
feet1 the back1 and the reclined        
position of the head4 ,this is history1 
not carpenter's work4 ,some painters    
fancy that they paint history1 if they  

get the measurement from the foot to the
 knee and put four bones where there are
 four bones4 ,this is not our idea of   
it2 but we think it is to show how one  
part of the body sways another in action
 and in passion4 ,the last relates      
chiefly to the expression of the face1  
though not altogether4 ,passion may be  
shown in a clenched fist as well as in  
clenched teeth4 ,the face1 however1 is  
the throne of expression4 ,character    
implies the feeling1 which is fixed and 
permanent2 expression that which it     
occasional and momentary1 at least1     
technically speaking4 ,portrait treats  
of objects as they are2 history of the  
events and changes to which they are    
liable4 ,and so far history has a double
 superiority2 or a double difficulty to 
overcome1 viz4 in the rapid glance over 
a number of parts subject to the        
simultaneous action of the same law1 and
 in the scope of feeling required to    
sympathise with the critical and        
powerful movements of passion4 ,it      

requires greater capacity of muscular   
motion to follow the progress of a      
carriage in violent motion1 than to lean
 upon it standing still4 ,if1 to        
describe passion1 it were merely        
necessary to observe its outward        
effects1 these1 perhaps1 in the         
prominent points1 become more visible   
and more tangible as the passion is more
 intense4 ,but it is not only necessary 
to see the effects1 but to discern the  
cause1 in order to make the one true to 
the other4 ,no painter gives more of    
intellectual or impassioned appearances 
than he understands or feels4 ,it is an 
axiom in painting that sympathy is      
indispensable to truth of expression4   
,without it1 you get only caricatures1  
which are not the thing4 ,but to        
sympathise with passion1 a greater fund 
of sensibility is demanded in proportion
 to the strength or tenderness of the   
passion4 ,and as he feels most of this  
whose face expresses most passion1 so he
 also feels most by sympathy whose hand 

can describe most passion4 ,this amounts
 nearly1 we take it1 to a demonstration 
of an old and very disputed point4 ,the 
same reasoning might be applied to      
poetry1 but this is not the             
place4--,again1 it is easier to paint a 
portrait than an historical face1       
because the head sits for the first1 but
 the expression will hardly sit for the 
last4 ,perhaps those passions are the   
best subjects for painting1 the         
expression of which may be retained for 
some time1 so as to be better caught1   
which throw out a sort of lambent fire1 
and leave a reflected glory behind them1
 as we see in ,madonnas1 ,christ's      
heads1 and what is understood by sacred 
subjects in general4 ,the violences of  
human passion are too soon over to be   
copied by the hand1 and the mere        
conception of the internal workings is  
not here sufficient1 as it is in poetry4
 ,a portrait is to history what         
still-life is to portraiture3 that is1  
the whole remains the same while you are

 doing it2 or while you are occupied    
about each part1 the rest wait for you4 
,yet1 what a difference is there between
 taking an original portrait and making 
a copy of one6 ,this shows that the face
 in its most ordinary state is          
continually varying and in action4 ,so  
much of history is there in             
portrait6--,no one should pronounce     
definitively on the superiority of      
history over portrait1 without          
recollecting ,titian's heads4 ,the      
finest of them are very nearly 7say     
quite7 equal to the finest of           
,raphael's4 ,they have almost the look  
of still-life1 yet each part is         
decidedly influenced by the rest4       
,everything is relative in them4 ,you   
cannot put any other eye1 nose1 lip in  
the same face4 ,as is one part1 so is   
the rest4 ,you cannot fix on any        
particular beauty2 the charm is in the  
whole4 ,they have least action1 and the 
most expression of any portraits4 ,they 
are doing nothing1 and yet all other    

business seems insipid in comparison of 
their thoughts4 ,they are silent1       
retired1 and do not court observation2  
yet you cannot keep your eyes from them4
 ,some one said1 that you would be as   
cautious of your behaviour in a room    
where a picture of ,titian's was hung1  
as if there was somebody by--so entirely
 do they look you through4 ,they are the
 least tiresome furniture-company in the
 world6  #e4 ,grandeur consists in      
connecting a number of parts into a     
whole1 and not leaving out the parts4   
,sir ,joshua lays it down that the great
 style in art consists in the omission  
of the details4 ,a greater error never  
man committed4 ,the great style consists
 in preserving the masses and general   
proportions2 not in omitting the        
details4 ,thus1 suppose1 for            
illustration's sake1 the general form of
 an eye-brow to be commanding and grand4
 ,it is of a certain size1 and arched in
 a particular curve4 ,now1 surely1 this 
general form or outline will be equally 

preserved1 whether the painter daubs it 
in1 in a bold1 rough way1 as ,reynolds  
or perhaps ,rembrandt would1 or produces
 the effect by a number of hair-lines   
arranged in the same form as ,titian    
sometimes did2 and in his best pictures4
 ,it will not be denied 7for it cannot7 
that the characteristic form of the     
eye-brow would be the same1 or that the 
effect of the picture at a small        
distance would be nearly the same in    
either case2 only in the latter1 it     
would be rather more perfect1 as being  
more like nature4 ,suppose a strong     
light to fall on one side of a face1 and
 a deep shadow to involve the whole of  
the other4 ,this would produce two      
distinct and large masses in the        
picture2 which answers to the conditions
 of what is called the grand style of   
composition4 ,well1 would it destroy    
these masses to give the smallest veins 
or variation of colour or surface in the
 light side1 or to shade the other with 
the most delicate and elaborate         

chiaro-scuro8 ,it is evident not2 from  
common sense1 from the practice of the  
best masters1 and1 lastly1 from the     
example of nature1 which contains both  
the larger masses1 the strongest        
contrasts1 and the highest finishing1   
within itself4 ,the integrity of the    
whole1 then1 is not impaired by the     
indefinite subdivision and smallness of 
the parts4 ,the grandeur of the ultimate
 effects depends entirely on the        
arrangement of these in a certain form  
or under certain masses4 ,the ,ilissus1 
or ,river-god1 is floating in his proper
 element1 and is1 in appearance1 as firm
 as a rock1 as pliable as a wave of the 
sea4 ,the artist's breath might be said 
to mould and play upon the undulating   
surface4 ,the whole is expanded into    
noble proportions1 and heaves with      
general effect4 ,what then8 ,are the    
parts unfinished2 or are they not there8
 ,no2 they are there with the nicest    
exactness1 but in due subordination2    
that is1 they are there as they are     

found in fine nature2 and float upon the
 general form1 like straw or weeds upon 
the tide of ocean4 ,once more3 in       
,titian's portraits we perceive a       
certain character stamped upon the      
different features4 ,in the ,hippolito  
de ,medici the eye-brows are angular1   
the nose is peaked1 the mouth has sharp 
corners1 the face is 7so to speak7 a    
pointed oval4 ,the drawing in each of   
these is as careful and distinct as can 
be4 ,but the unity of intention in      
nature1 and in the artist1 does not the 
less tend to produce a general grandeur 
and impressiveness of effect2 which at  
first sight it is not easy to account   
for4 ,to combine a number of particulars
 to one end is not to omit them         
altogether2 and is the best way of      
producing the grand style1 because it   
does this without either affectation or 
slovenliness4  #f4 ,the sixth rule we   
proposed to lay down was1 that as       
grandeur is the principle of connexion  
between different parts2 beauty is the  

principle of affinity between different 
forms1 or their gradual conversion into 
each other4 ,the one harmonizes1 the    
other aggrandizes1 our impressions of   
things4  ,there is a harmony of colours 
and a harmony of sounds1 unquestionably3
 why then there should be all this      
squeamishness about admitting an        
original harmony of forms as the        
principle of beauty and source of       
pleasure there we cannot understand4 ,it
 is true1 that there is in organized    
bodies a certain standard of form to    
which they approximate more or less1 and
 from which they cannot very widely     
deviate without shocking the sense of   
custom1 or our settled expectations of  
what they ought to be4 ,and hence it has
 been pretended that there is in all    
such cases a middle central form1       
obtained by leaving out the             
peculiarities of all the others1 which  
alone is the pure standard of truth and 
beauty4 ,a conformity to custom is1 we  
grant1 one condition of beauty or source

 of satisfaction to the eye1 because an 
abrupt transition shocks2 but there is a
 conformity 7or correspondence7 of      
colours1 sounds1 lines1 among           
themselves1 which is soft and pleasing  
for the same reason4 ,the average or    
customary form merely determines what is
 natural4 ,a thing cannot please1 unless
 it is to be found in nature2 but that  
which is natural is most pleasing1      
according as it has other properties    
which in themselves please4 ,thus the   
colour of a cheek must be the natural   
complexion of a human face2--it would   
not do to make it the colour of a flower
 or a precious stone2--but among        
complexions ordinarily to be found in   
nature1 that is most beautiful which    
would be thought so abstractedly1 or in 
itself4 ,yellow hair is not the most    
common1 nor is it a mean proportion     
between the different colours of women's
 hair4 ,yet1 who will say that it is not
 the most beautiful8 ,blue or green hair
 would be a defect and an anomaly1 not  

because it is not the medium of nature1 
but because it is not in nature at all4 
,to say that there is no difference in  
the sense of form except from custom1 is
 like saying that there is no difference
 in the sensation of smooth or rough4   
,judging by analogy1 a gradation or     
symmetry of form must affect the mind in
 the same manner as a gradation of      
recurrence at given intervals of tones  
or sounds2 and if it does so in fact1 we
 need not inquire further for the       
principle4 ,sir ,joshua 7who is the     
arch-heretic on this subject7 makes     
grandeur or sublimity consist in the    
middle form1 or abstraction of all      
peculiarities2 which is evidently false1
 for grandeur and sublimity arise from  
extraordinary strength1 magnitude1 c4 or
 in a word1 from an excess of power1 so 
as to startle and overawe the mind4 ,but
 as sublimity is an excess of power1    
beauty is1 we conceive1 the blending and
 harmonizing different powers or        
qualities together1 so as to produce a  

soft and pleasurable sensation4 ,that it
 is not the middle form of the species  
seems proved in various ways4 ,first1   
because one species is more beautiful   
than another1 according to common sense4
 ,a rose is the queen of flowers1 in    
poetry at least2 but in this philosophy 
any other flower is as good4 ,a swan is 
more beautiful than a goose2 a stag than
 a goat4 ,yet if custom were the test of
 beauty1 either we should give no       
preference1 or our preference would be  
reversed4 ,again1 let us go back to the 
human face and figure4 ,a straight nose 
is allowed to be handsome1 that is1 one 
that presents nearly a continuation of  
the line of the forehead1 and the sides 
of which are nearly parallel4 ,now this 
cannot be the mean proportion of the    
form of noses4 ,for1 first1 most noses  
are broader at the bottom than at the   
top1 inclining to the negro head1 but   
none are broader at top than at the     
bottom1 to produce the ,greek form as a 
balance between both4 ,almost all noses 

sink in immediately under the forehead  
bone1 none ever project there2 so that  
the nearly straight line continued from 
the forehead cannot be a mean proportion
 struck between the two extremes of     
convex and concave form in this feature 
of the face4 ,there must1 therefore1 be 
some other principle of symmetry1       
continuity1 c4 to account for the       
variation from the prescribed rule4     
,once more 7not to multiply instances   
tediously71 a double calf is undoubtedly
 the perfection of beauty in the form of
 the leg4 ,but this is a rare thing4    
,nor is it the medium between two common
 extremes4 ,for the muscles seldom swell
 enough to produce this excrescence1 if 
it may be so called1 and never run to an
 excess there1 so as1 by diminishing the
 quantity1 to subside into proportion   
and beauty4 ,but this second or lower   
calf is a connecting link between the   
upper calf and the small of the leg1 and
 is just like a second chord or         
half-note in music4 ,we conceive that   

any one who does not perceive the beauty
 of the ,venus de ,medicis1 for         
instance1 in this respect1 has not the  
proper perception of form in his mind4  
,as this is the most disputable1 or at  
least the most disputed part of our     
theory1 we may1 perhaps1 have to recur  
to it again1 and shall leave an opening 
for that purpose4  #g4 ,that grace is   
the beautiful or harmonious in what     
relates to position or motion4  ,there  
needs not much be said on this point2 as
 we apprehend it will be granted that1  
whatever beauty is as to the form1 grace
 is the same thing in relation to the   
use that is made of it4 ,grace1 in      
writing1 relates to the transitions that
 are made from one subject to another1  
or to the movement that is given to a   
passage4 ,if one thing leads to another1
 or an idea or illustration is brought  
in without effect1 or without making a  
boggle in the mind1 we call this a      
graceful style4 ,transitions must in    
general be gradual and pieced together4 

,but sometimes the most violent are the 
most graceful1 when the mind is fairly  
tired out and exhausted with a subject1 
and is glad to leap to another as a     
repose and relief from the first4 ,of   
these there are frequent instances in   
,mr4 ,burke's writings1 which have      
something ,pindaric in them4 ,that which
 is not beautiful in itself1 or in the  
mere form1 may be made so by position or
 motion4 ,a figure by no means elegant  
may be put in an elegant position4 ,mr4 
,kean's figure is not good2 yet we have 
seen him throw himself into attitudes of
 infinite spirit1 dignity1 and grace4   
,john ,kemble's figure1 on the contrary1
 is fine in itself2 and he has only to  
show himself to be admired4 ,the        
direction in which anything is moved has
 evidently nothing to do with the shape 
of the thing moved4 ,the one may be a   
circle and the other a square4 ,little  
and deformed people seem to be well     
aware of this distinction1 who1 in spite
 of their unpromising appearance1       

usually assume the most imposing        
attitudes1 and give themselves the most 
extraordinary airs imaginable4  #h4     
,grandeur of motion is unity of motion4 
,this principle hardly needs            
illustration4 ,awkwardness is           
contradictory or disjointed motion4  #i4
 ,strength in art is giving the         
extremes1 softness the uniting them4    
,there is no incompatibility between    
strength and softness1 as is sometimes  
supposed by frivolous people4 ,weakness 
is not refinement4 ,a shadow may be     
twice as deep in a finely coloured      
picture as in another1 and yet almost   
imperceptible1 from the gradations that 
lead to it1 and blend it with the light4
 ,correggio had prodigious strength1 and
 greater softness4 ,nature is strong and
 soft1 beyond the reach of art to       
imitate4 ,softness then does not imply  
the absence of considerable extremes1   
but it is the interposing a third thing 
between them1 to break the force of the 
contrast4 ,guido is more soft than      

strong4 ,rembrandt is more strong than  
soft4  #aj4 ,and lastly4 ,that truth is1
 to a certain degree1 beauty and        
grandeur1 since all things are          
connected1 and all things modify one    
another in nature4 ,simplicity is also  
grand and beautiful for the same reason4
 ,elegance is ease and lightness1 with  
precision4  ,this last head appears to  
contain a number of gratis dicta1 got   
together for the sake of completing a   
decade of propositions4 ,they have1     
however1 some show of truth1 and we     
should add little clearness to them by  
any reasoning upon the matter4 ,so we   
will conclude here for the present4     
,,fonthill ,,abbey    ,london ,magazine4
                                        
,november #ahbb4  ,the old              
sarcasm--,omne ignotum pro magnifico    
est--cannot be justly applied here4     
,,fonthill ,,abbey1 after being         
enveloped in impenetrable mystery for a 
length of years1 has been unexpectedly  
thrown open to the vulgar gaze1 and has 

lost none of its reputation for         
magnificence--though1 perhaps1 its      
visionary glory1 its classic renown1    
have vanished from the public mind for  
ever4 ,it is1 in a word1 a desert of    
magnificence1 a glittering waste of     
laborious idleness1 a cathedral turned  
into a toy-shop1 an immense ,museum of  
all that is most curious and costly1    
and1 at the same time1 most worthless1  
in the productions of art and nature4   
,ships of pearl and seas of amber are   
scarce a fable here--a nautilus's shell 
surmounted with a gilt triumph of       
,neptune--tables of agate1 cabinets of  
ebony and precious stones1 painted      
windows #8shedding a gaudy1 crimson     
light1' satin borders1 marble floors1   
and lamps of solid gold--,chinese       
pagodas and ,persian tapestry--all the  
miniature splendour of ,solomon's       
,temple is displayed to the             
view--whatever is far-fetched and       
dear-bought1 rich in the materials1 or  
rare and difficult in the               

workmanship--but scarce one genuine work
 of art1 one solid proof of taste1 one  
lofty relic of sentiment or imagination6
  ,the difficult1 the unattainable1 the 
exclusive1 are to be found here in      
profusion1 in perfection2 all else is   
wanting1 or is brought in merely as a   
foil or as a stop-gap4 ,in this respect 
the collection is as satisfactory as it 
is unique4 ,the specimens exhibited are 
the best1 the most highly finished1 the 
most costly and curious1 of that kind of
 ostentatious magnificence which is     
calculated to gratify the sense of      
property in the owner1 and to excite the
 wondering curiosity of the stranger1   
who is permitted to see or 7as a choice 
privilege and favour7 even to touch     
baubles so dazzling and of such         
exquisite nicety of execution2 and      
which1 if broken or defaced1 it would be
 next to impossible to replace4 ,the    
same character extends to the pictures1 
which are mere furniture-pictures1      
remarkable chiefly for their antiquity  

or painful finishing1 without beauty1   
without interest1 and with about the    
same pretensions to attract the eye or  
delight the fancy as a well-polished    
mahogany table or a waxed oak-floor4    
,not one great work by one great name1  
scarce one or two of the worst specimens
 of the first masters1 ,leonardo's      
,laughing ,boy1 or a copy from ,raphael 
or ,correggio1 as if to make the thing  
remote and finical--but heaps of the    
most elaborate pieces of the worst of   
the ,dutch masters1 ,breughel's         
,sea-horses with coats of               
mother-of-pearl1 and ,rottenhammer's    
,elements turned into a ,flower-piece4  
,the ,catalogue1 in short1 is guiltless 
of the names of any of those works of   
art               #8,which like a       
trumpet make the spirits dance2'  and is
 sacred to those which rank no higher   
than veneering1 and where the painter is
 on a precise par with the carver and   
gilder4 ,such is not our taste in art2  
and we confess we should have been a    

little disappointed in viewing          
,fonthill1 had not our expectations been
 disabused beforehand4 ,oh6 for a       
glimpse of the ,escurial6 where the     
piles of ,titians lie2 where nymphs1    
fairer than lilies1 repose in green1    
airy1 pastoral landscapes1 and ,cupids  
with curled locks pluck the wanton vine2
 at whose beauty1 whose splendour1 whose
 truth and freshness1 ,mengs could not  
contain his astonishment1 nor           
,cumberland his raptures2               
#8,while groves of ,eden1 vanish'd now  
so long1              ,live in          
description1 and look green in song2'   
the very thought of which1 in that      
monastic seclusion and low dell1        
surrounded by craggy precipices1 gives  
the mind a calenture1 a longing desire  
to plunge through wastes and wilds1 to  
visit at the shrine of such beauty1 and 
be buried in the bosom of such verdant  
sweetness4--,get thee behind us1        
temptation2 or not all ,china and ,japan
 will detain us1 and this article will  

be left unfinished1 or found 7as a      
volume of ,keats's poems was carried out
 by ,mr4 ,ritchie to be dropped in the  
,great ,desart7 in the sorriest inn in  
the farthest part of ,spain1 or in the  
marble baths of the ,moorish ,alhambra1 
or amidst the ruins of ,tadmor1 or in   
barbaric palaces1 where ,bruce          
encountered ,abyssinian queens6 ,any    
thing to get all this frippery1 and     
finery1 and tinsel1 and glitter1 and    
embossing1 and system of tantalization1 
and fret-work of the imagination out of 
our heads1 and take one deep1 long1     
oblivious draught of the romantic and   
marvellous1 the thirst of which the fame
 of ,fonthill ,abbey has raised in us1  
but not satisfied6--  ,mr4 ,beckford has
 undoubtedly shown himself an           
industrious bijoutier1 a prodigious     
virtuoso1 an accomplished patron of     
unproductive labour1 an enthusiastic    
collector of expensive trifles--the only
 proof of taste 7to our thinking7 he has
 shown in this collection is his getting

 rid of it4 ,what splendour1 what grace1
 what grandeur might he substitute in   
lieu of it6 ,what a handwriting might he
 spread out upon the walls6 ,what a     
spirit of poetry and philosophy might   
breathe there6 ,what a solemn gloom1    
what gay vistas of fancy1 like chequered
 light and shade1 might genius1 guided  
by art1 shed around6 ,the author of     
,vathek is a scholar2 the proprietor of 
,fonthill has travelled abroad1 and has 
seen all the finest remains of antiquity
 and boasted specimens of modern art4   
,why not lay his hands on some of these8
 ,he had power to carry them away4 ,one 
might have expected to see1 at least1 a 
few fine old pictures1 marble copies of 
the celebrated statues1 the ,apollo1 the
 ,venus1 the ,dying ,gladiator1 the     
,antinous1 antique vases with their     
elegant sculptures1 or casts from them1 
coins1 medals1 bas-reliefs1 something   
connected with the beautiful forms of   
external nature1 or with what is great  
in the mind or memorable in the history 

of man1--,egyptian hieroglyphics1 or    
,chaldee manuscripts1 or paper made of  
the reeds of the ,nile1 or mummies from 
the ,pyramids6 ,not so2 not a trace 7or 
scarcely so7 of any of these2--as little
 as may be of what is classical or      
imposing to the imagination from        
association or well-founded prejudice2  
hardly an article of any consequence    
that does not seem to be labelled to the
 following effect--#8,this is mine1 and 
there is no one else in the whole world 
in whom it can inspire the least        
interest1 or any feeling beyond a       
momentary surprise6' ,to show another   
your property is an act in itself       
ungracious1 or null and void4 ,it       
excites no pleasure from sympathy4      
,every one must have remarked the       
difference in his feelings on entering a
 venerable old cathedral1 for instance1 
and a modern-built private mansion4 ,the
 one seems to fill the mind and expand  
the form1 while the other only produces 
a sense of listless vacuity1 and        

disposes us to shrink into our own      
littleness4 ,whence is this1 but that in
 the first case our associations of     
power1 of interest1 are general1 and    
tend to aggrandize the species2 and that
 in the latter 7viz4 the case of private
 property7 they are exclusive1 and tend 
to aggrandize none but the individual8  
,this must be the effect1 unless there  
is something grand or beautiful in the  
objects themselves that makes us forget 
the distinction of mere property1 as    
from the noble architecture or great    
antiquity of a building2 or unless they 
remind us of common and universal       
nature1 as pictures1 statues do1 like so
 many mirrors1 reflecting the external  
landscape1 and carrying us out of the   
magic circle of self-love4 ,but all     
works of art come under the head of     
property or showy furniture1 which are  
neither distinguished by sublimity nor  
beauty1 and are estimated only by the   
labour required to produce what is      
trifling or worthless1 and are          

consequently nothing more than obtrusive
 proofs of the wealth of the immediate  
possessor4 ,the motive for the          
production of such toys is mercenary1   
and the admiration of them childish or  
servile4 ,that which pleases merely from
 its novelty1 or because it was never   
seen before1 cannot be expected to      
please twice3 that which is remarkable  
for the difficulty or costliness of the 
execution can be interesting to no one  
but the maker or owner4 ,a shell1       
however rarely to be met with1 however  
highly wrought or quaintly embellished1 
can only flatter the sense of curiosity 
for a moment in a number of persons1 or 
the feeling of vanity for a greater     
length of time in a single person4      
,there are better things than this 7we  
will be bold to say7 in the world both  
of nature and art--things of universal  
and lasting interest1 things that appeal
 to the imagination and the affections4 
,the village-bell that rings out its sad
 or merry tidings to old men and        

maidens1 to children and matrons1 goes  
to the heart1 because it is a sound     
significant of weal or woe to all1 and  
has borne no uninteresting intelligence 
to you1 to me1 and to thousands more who
 have heard it perhaps for centuries4   
,there is a sentiment in it4 ,the face  
of a ,madonna 7if equal to the subject7 
has also a sentiment in it1 #8whose     
price is above rubies4' ,it is a shrine1
 a consecrated source of high and pure  
feeling1 a well-head of lovely          
expression1 at which the soul drinks and
 is refreshed1 age after age4 ,the mind 
converses with the mind1 or with that   
nature which1 from long and daily       
intimacy1 has become a sort of second   
self to it3 but what sentiment lies hid 
in a piece of porcelain8 ,what soul can 
you look for in a gilded cabinet or a   
marble slab8 ,is it possible there can  
be any thing like a feeling of          
littleness or jealousy in this proneness
 to a merely ornamental taste1 that1    
from not sympathising with the higher   

and more expansive emanations of        
thought1 shrinks from their display with
 conscious weakness and inferiority8 ,if
 it were an apprehension of an invidious
 comparison between the proprietor and  
the author of any signal work of genius1
 which the former did not covet1 one    
would think he must be at least equally 
mortified at sinking to a level in taste
 and pursuits with the maker of a ,dutch
 toy4 ,mr4 ,beckford1 however1 has      
always had the credit of the highest    
taste in works of art as well as in     
virt4 ,as the showman in ,goldsmith's   
comedy declares that #8his bear dances  
to none but the genteelest of           
tunes--,water parted from the ,sea1 or  
,the ,minuet in ,ariadne2'--so it was   
supposed that this celebrated           
collector's money went for none but the 
finest ,claudes and the choicest        
specimens of some rare ,italian master4 
,the two ,claudes are gone4 ,it is as   
well--they must have felt a little out  
of their place here--they are kept in   

countenance1 where they are1 by the very
 best company6  ,we once happened to    
have the pleasure of seeing ,mr4        
,beckford in the ,great ,gallery of the 
,louvre--he was very plainly dressed in 
a loose great coat1 and looked somewhat 
pale and thin--but what brought the     
circumstance to our minds1 was that we  
were told on this occasion one of those 
thumping matter-of-fact lies1 which are 
pretty common to other ,frenchmen       
besides ,gascons--viz4 ,that he had     
offered the ,first ,consul no less a sum
 than two hundred thousand guineas for  
the purchase of the ,st4 ,peter ,martyr4
 ,would that he had6 and that ,napoleon 
had taken him at his word6--which we    
think not unlikely4 ,with two hundred   
thousand guineas he might have taken    
some almost impregnable fortress4       
#8,magdeburg1' said ,buonaparte1 #8is   
worth a hundred queens3' and he would   
have thought such another stronghold    
worth at least one ,saint4 ,as it is1   
what an opportunity have we lost of     

giving the public an account of this    
picture6 ,yet why not describe it1 as we
 see it still #8in our mind's eye1'     
standing on the floor of the            
,thuilleries1 with none of its          
brightness impaired1 through the long   
perspective of waning years8 ,there it  
stands1 and will for ever stand in our  
imagination1 with the dark1 scowling1   
terrific face of the murdered monk      
looking up to his assassin1 the         
horror-struck features of the flying    
priest1 and the skirts of his vest      
waving in the wind1 the shattered       
branches of the autumnal trees that feel
 the coming gale1 with that cold convent
 spire rising in the distance amidst the
 sapphire hills and golden sky--and     
over-head are seen the cherubim bringing
 the crown of martyrdom with rosy       
fingers2 and 7such is the feeling of    
truth1 the soul of faith in the picture7
 you hear floating near1 in dim         
harmonies1 the pealing anthem1 and the  
heavenly choir6 ,surely1 the ,st4 ,peter

 ,martyr surpasses all ,titian's other  
works1 as he himself did all other      
painters4 ,had this picture been        
transferred to the present collection   
7or any picture like it7 what a trail of
 glory would it have left behind it6 for
 what a length of way would it have     
haunted the imagination6 how often      
should we have wished to revisit it1 and
 how fondly would the eye have turned   
back to the stately tower of ,fonthill  
,abbey1 that from the western horizon   
gives the setting sun to other climes1  
as the beacon and guide to the knowledge
 and the love of high ,art6  ,the ,duke 
of ,wellington1 it is said1 has declared
 ,fonthill to be #8the finest thing in  
,europe4' ,if so1 it is since the       
dispersion of the ,louvre4 ,it is also  
said1 that the ,king is to visit it4 ,we
 do not mean to say it is not a fit     
place for the ,king to visit1 or for the
 ,duke to praise3 but we know this1 that
 it is a very bad one for us to         
describe4 ,the father of ,mr4 ,christie 

was supposed to be #8equally great on a 
ribbon or a ,raphael4' ,this is         
unfortunately not our case4 ,we are not 
#8great' at all1 but least of all in    
little things4 ,we have tried in various
 ways3 we can make nothing of it4 ,look 
here--this is the ,catalogue4 ,now what 
can we say 7who are not auctioneers1 but
 critics7 to    ,six ,japan             
heron-pattern embossed dishes2 or1      
,twelve burnt-in dishes in compartments2
 or1    ,sixteen ditto1 enamelled with  
insects and birds2 or1    ,seven        
embossed soup-plates1 with plants and   
rich borders2 or1    ,nine chocolate    
cups and saucers of egg-shell ,china1   
blue lotus     pattern2 or1    ,two     
butter pots on feet1 and a bason1 cover1
 and stand1 of ,japan2 or1    ,two      
basons and covers1 sea-green mandarin2  
or1    ,a very rare specimen of the     
basket-work ,japan1 ornamented with     
flowers     in relief1 of the finest    
kind1 the inside gilt1 from the ,ragland
     ,museum2 or1    ,two fine enamelled

 dishes scalloped2 or1    ,two blue     
bottles and two red and gold cups--extra
 fine2 or1    ,a very curious egg-shell 
lantern2 or1    ,two very rare ,japan   
cups mounted as milk buckets1 with      
silver rims1     gilt and chased2 or1   
,two matchless ,japan dishes2 or1    ,a 
very singular tray1 the ground of a     
curious wood artificially     waved1    
with storks in various attitudes on the 
shore1 mosaic     border1 and avanturine
 back2 or1    ,two extremely rare       
bottles with chimras and plants1 mounted
 in silver     gilt2 or1    ,twenty-four
 fine ,,old ,s,,ve dessert plates2 or1  
,two precious enamelled bowl dishes1    
with silver handles2--  ,or1 to stick to
 the capital letters in this ,paradise  
of ,dainty ,devices1 lest we should be  
suspected of singling out the meanest   
articles1 we will just transcribe a few 
of them1 for the satisfaction of the    
curious reader3--    ,a ,,rich and      
,,highly ,,ornamented ,,casket of the   
very rare gold ,,japan1     completely  

covered with figures4    ,an ,,oriental 
,,sculptured ,,tassa ,,of ,,lapis       
,,lazuli1 mounted in silver gilt1       
and set with lapis lazuli intaglios4    
,from the ,garde ,meuble of the     late
 ,king of ,france4    ,a ,,persian ,,jad
 ,,vase and ,,cover1 inlaid with flowers
 and ornaments1     composed of oriental
 rubies1 and emeralds on stems of fine  
gold4    ,a ,,large ,,oval ,,engraved   
,,rock ,,crystal ,,cup1 with the figure 
of a ,syren1     carved from the block1 
and embracing a part of the vessel with 
her     wings1 so as to form a handle2  
from the ,,royal ,,collection ,,of      
,,france4    ,an ,,oval ,,cup and       
,,cover ,,of ,,oriental ,,mamillated    
,,agate1 richly marked in               
arborescent mocoa1 elaborately chased   
and engraved in a very     superior     
manner4 ,an unique article4  ,shall we  
go on with this fooling8 ,we cannot4    
,the reader must be tired of such an    
uninteresting account of empty jars and 
caskets--it reads so like ,della        

,cruscan poetry4 ,they are not even ,nug
 ,canor4 ,the pictures are much in the  
same mimmine-pimmine taste4 ,for        
instance1 in the first and second days' 
sale we meet with the following3--    ,a
 high-finished miniature drawing of a   
,holy ,family1 and a portrait3     one  
of those with which the patents of the  
,venetian nobility were     usually     
embellished4    ,a small landscape1 by  
,breughel4    ,a small miniature        
painting after ,titian1 by ,stella4     
,a curious painting1 by ,peter ,peters  
,breughel1 the conflagration of         
,troy--a choice specimen of this scarce 
master4    ,a picture by ,franks1       
representing the temptation of ,st4     
,anthony4    ,a picture by old          
,breughel1 representing a fte--a        
singular specimen of     his first      
manner4    ,lucas ,cranach--,the        
,madonna and ,child--highly finished4   
,a crucifixion1 painted upon a gold     
ground1 by ,andrea ,orcagna1 a rare     
and early specimen of ,italian art4     

,from the ,campo ,santo di ,pisa4    ,a 
lady's portrait1 by ,cosway4            
,netecher--a lady seated1 playing on the
 harpsichord1 c4  ,who cares any thing  
about such frippery1 time out of mind   
the stale ornaments of a pawnbroker's   
shop2 or about old ,breughel1 or        
,stella1 or ,franks1 or ,lucas ,cranach1
 or ,netecher1 or ,cosway8--,but at that
 last name we pause1 and must be excused
 if we consecrate to him a petit        
souvenir in our best manner3 for he was 
,fancy's child4 ,all other collectors   
are fools to him3 they go about with    
painful anxiety to find out the         
realities3--he said he had them--and in 
a moment made them of the breath of his 
nostrils and the fumes of a lively      
imagination4 ,his was the crucifix that 
,abelard prayed to--the original        
manuscript of the ,rape of the          
,lock--the dagger with which ,felton    
stabbed the ,duke of ,buckingham--the   
first finished sketch of the            
,jocunda--,titian's large colossal      

portrait of ,peter ,aretine--a mummy of 
an ,egyptian king--an alligator stuffed4
 ,were the articles authentic8--no      
matter--his faith in them was true4     
,what a fairy palace was his of         
specimens of art1 antiquarianism1 and   
virt1 jumbled all together in the       
richest disorder1 dusty1 shadowy1       
obscure1 with much left to the          
imagination 7how different from the     
finical1 polished1 petty1 perfect1      
modernised air of ,fonthill67 and with  
copies of the old masters1 cracked and  
damaged1 which he touched and retouched 
with his own hand1 and yet swore they   
were the genuine1 the pure originals6   
,he was gifted with a second-sight in   
such matters3 he believed whatever was  
incredible4 ,happy mortal6 ,fancy bore  
sway in him1 and so vivid were his      
impressions that they included the      
reality in them4 ,the agreeable and the 
true with him were one4 ,he believed in 
,swedenborgianism--he believed in animal
 magnetism--he had conversed with more  

than one person of the ,trinity--he     
could talk with his lady at ,mantua     
through some fine vehicle of sense1 as  
we speak to a servant down stairs       
through an ear-pipe4--,richard ,cosway  
was not the man to flinch from an ideal 
proposition4 ,once1 at an ,academy      
dinner1 when some question was made1    
whether the story of ,lambert's leap was
 true1 he started up1 and said it was1  
for he was the man that performed       
it2--he once assured us1 that the       
knee-pan of ,king ,james ,i4 at         
,whitehall was nine feet across 7he had 
measured it in concert with ,mr4        
,cipriani72 he could read in the book of
 ,revelations without spectacles1 and   
foretold the return of ,buonaparte from 
,elba and from ,st4 ,helena4 ,his wife1 
the most lady-like of ,englishwomen1    
being asked1 in ,paris1 what sort of a  
man her husband was1 answered1 ,toujours
 riant1 toujours gai4 ,this was true4   
,he must have been of ,french           
extraction4 ,his soul had the life of a 

bird2 and such was the jauntiness of his
 air and manner that1 to see him sit to 
have his half-boots laced on1 you would 
fancy 7with the help of a figure7 that1 
instead of a little withered elderly    
gentleman1 it was ,venus attired by the 
,graces4 ,his miniatures were not       
fashionable--they were fashion itself4  
,when more than ninety1 he retired from 
his profession1 and used to hold up the 
palsied right hand that had painted     
lords and ladies for upwards of sixty   
years1 and smiled1 with unabated good   
humour1 at the vanity of human wishes4  
,take him with all his faults or        
follies1 #8we scarce shall look upon his
 like again6'  ,after speaking of him1  
we are ashamed to go back to ,fonthill1 
lest one drop of gall should fall from  
our pen4 ,no1 for the rest of our way1  
we will dip it in the milk of human     
kindness1 and deliver all with charity4 
,there are four or five very curious    
cabinets--a triple jewel cabinet of     
opaque1 with panels of transparent      

amber1 dazzles the eye like a temple of 
the ,new ,jerusalem--the ,nautilus's    
shell1 with the triumph of ,neptune and 
,amphitrite1 is elegant1 and the table  
on which it stands superb--the cups1    
vases1 and sculptures1 by ,cellini1     
,berg1 and ,john of ,bologna1 are as    
admirable as they are rare--the ,berghem
 7a sea-port7 is a fair specimen of that
 master--the ,poulterer's ,shop1 by ,g4 
,douw1 is passable--there are some      
middling ,bassans--the ,sibylla ,libyca1
 of ,l4 ,caracci1 is in the grand style 
of composition--there is a good copy of 
a head by ,parmegiano--the painted      
windows in the centre of the ,abbey have
 a surprising effect--the form of the   
building 7which was raised by           
torch-light7 is fantastical1 to say the 
least--and the grounds1 which are       
extensive and fine from situation1 are  
laid out with the hand of a master4 ,a  
quantity of coot1 teal1 and wild fowl   
sport in a crystal stream that winds    
along the park2 and their dark brown    

coats1 seen in the green shadows of the 
water1 have a most picturesque effect4  
,upon the whole1 if we were not much    
pleased by our excursion to ,fonthill1  
we were very little disappointed2 and   
the place altogether is consistent and  
characteristic4                         
,,judging ,,of ,,pictures   ,painters   
assume that none can judge of pictures  
but themselves4 ,many do this avowedly1 
some by implication1 and all in         
practice4 ,they exclaim against any one 
writing about art who has not served his
 apprenticeship to the craft1 who is not
 versed in the detail of its mechanism4 
,this has often put me a little out of  
patience--but ,i will take patience1 and
 say why4  ,in the first place1 with    
regard to the productions of living     
artists1 painters have no right to speak
 at all4 ,the way in which they are     
devoured and consumed by envy would be  
ludicrous if it were not lamentable4 ,it
 is folly to talk of the divisions and  
backbitings of authors and poets while  

there are such people as painters in the
 world4 ,i never in the whole course of 
my life heard one speak in hearty praise
 of another4 ,generally they blame      
downrightly--but at all events their    
utmost applause is with a damning       
reservation4 ,authors--even poets1 the  
genus irritabile--do taste and          
acknowledge the beauties of the         
productions of their competitors2 but   
painters either cannot see them through 
the green spectacles of envy1 or seeing1
 they hate and deny them the more4 ,in  
conformity with this1 painters are more 
greedy of praise than any other order of
 men4 #8,they gorge the little fame they
 get all raw'--they are gluttonous of it
 in their own persons in the proportion 
in which they would starve others4  ,i  
once knew a very remarkable instance of 
this4 ,a friend of mine had written a   
criticism of an exhibition4 ,in this    
were mentioned in terms of the highest  
praise the works of two                 
brothers--sufficiently so1 indeed1 to   

have satisfied1 one would have thought1 
the most insatiate4 ,i was going down   
into the country to the place where     
these brothers lived1 and ,i was asked  
to be the bearer of the work in which   
the critique appeared4 ,i was so1 and   
sent a copy to each of them4 ,some days 
afterwards ,i called on one of them1 who
 began to speak of the review of his    
pictures4 ,he expressed some thanks for 
what was said of them1 but complained   
that the writer of it had fallen into a 
very common error under which he had    
often suffered--the confounding1 namely1
 his pictures with his brother's4       
#8,now1 my dear sir1' continued he1     
#8what is said of me is all very well1  
but here1' turning to the high-wrought  
panegyric on his brother1 #8this is all 
in allusion to my style--this is all    
with reference to my pictures--this is  
all meant for me4' ,i could hardly help 
exclaiming before the man's face4 ,the  
praise which was given to himself was   
such as would have called a blush to any

 but a painter's face to speak of2 but1 
not content with this1 he insisted on   
appropriating his brother's also3 ,how  
insatiate is the pictorial man6  ,but to
 come to the more general subject--,i   
deny in toto and at once the exclusive  
right and power of painters to judge of 
pictures4 ,what is a picture meant for8 
,to convey certain ideas to the mind of 
painters8 that is1 of one man in ten    
thousand8--,no1 but to make them        
apparent to the eye and mind of all4 ,if
 a picture be admired by none but       
painters1 ,i think it is strong         
presumption that the picture is bad4 ,a 
painter is no more a judge1 ,i suppose1 
than another man of how people feel and 
look under certain passions and events4 
,every body sees as well as him whether 
certain figures on the canvas are like  
such a man1 or like a cow1 a tree1 a    
bridge1 or a windmill4 ,all that the    
painter can do more than the lay        
spectator1 is to tell why and how the   
merits and defects of a picture are     

produced4 ,i see that such a figure is  
ungraceful and out of nature--he shows  
me that the drawing is faulty1 or the   
foreshortening incorrect4 ,he then      
points out to me whence the blemish     
arises2 but he is not a bit more aware  
of the existence of the blemish than ,i 
am4 ,in ,hogarth's #8,frontispiece' ,i  
see that the whole business is absurd1  
for a man on a hill two miles off could 
not light his pipe at a candle held out 
of a window close to me--he tells me    
that it is from a want of perspective1  
that is1 of certain rules by which      
certain effects are obtained4 ,he shows 
me why the picture is bad1 but ,i am    
just as well capable of saying #8,the   
picture is bad' as he is4 ,to take a    
coarse illustration1 but one most       
exactly apposite1 ,i can tell whether a 
made dish be good or bad1--whether its  
taste be pleasant or disagreeable4--,it 
is dressed for the palate of uninitiated
 people1 and not alone for the disciples
 of ,dr4 ,kitchener and ,mr4 ,ude4 ,but 

it needs a cook to tell one why it is   
bad2 that there is a grain too much of  
this1 or a drop too much of             
t'other--that it has been boiled rather 
too much1 or stewed rather too          
little--these things1 the wherefores1 as
 #8,squire ,western would say1 ,i       
require an artist to tell me1--but the  
point in debate--the worth or the bad   
quality of the painting or potage1 ,i am
 as well able to decide upon as any he  
who ever brandished a pallet or a pan1 a
 brush or a skimming-ladle4  ,to go into
 the higher branches of the art--the    
poetry of painting--,i deny still more  
peremptorily the exclusiveness of the   
initiated4 ,it might be as well said1   
that none but those who could write a   
play have any right to sit on the third 
row in the pit1 on the first night of a 
new tragedy4 ,nay1 there is more        
plausibility in the one than the other4 
,no man can judge of poetry without     
possessing in some measure a poetical   
mind4 ,it need not be of that degree    

necessary to create1 but it must be     
equal to taste and to analyze4 ,now in  
painting there is a directly mechanical 
power required to render those          
imaginations1 to the judging of which   
the mind may be perfectly competent4 ,i 
may know what is a just or a beautiful  
representation of love1 anger1 madness1 
despair1 without being able to draw a   
straight line--and ,i do not see how    
that faculty adds to the capability of  
so judging4 ,a very great proportion of 
painting is mechanical4 ,the higher     
kinds of painting need first a poet's   
mind to conceive3--,very well1 but then 
they need a draughtsman's hand to       
execute4 ,now he who possesses the mind 
alone is fully able to judge of what is 
produced1 even though he is by no means 
endowed with the mechanical power of    
producing it himself4 ,i am far from    
saying that any one is capable of duly  
judging pictures of the higher class4   
,it requires a mind capable of          
estimating the noble1 or touching1 or   

terrible1 or sublime subjects which they
 present--but there is no sort of       
necessity that we should be able to put 
them upon the canvas ourselves4  ,there 
is one point1 even1 on which painters   
usually judge worse of pictures than the
 general spectator2 ,i say usually1 for 
there are some painters who are too     
thoroughly intellectual to run into the 
error of which ,i am about to speak4 ,i 
mean that they are apt to overlook the  
higher and more mental parts of a       
picture1 in their haste to criticise its
 mechanical properties4 ,they forget the
 expression1 in being too mindful of    
what is more strictly manual4 ,they talk
 of such a colour being skilfully or    
unskillfully put in opposition to       
another1 rather than of the moral       
contrast of the countenances of a group4
 ,they say that the flesh-tints are well
 brought out1 before they speak of the  
face which the flesh forms4 ,to use a   
,french term of much condensation1 they 
think of the physique before they bestow

 any attention on the morale4  ,i am the
 farthest in the world from falling into
 the absurdity of upholding that        
painters should neglect the mechanical  
parts of their profession2 for without a
 mastery in them it would be impossible 
to body forth any imaginations1 however 
strong or beautiful4 ,i only wish that  
they should not overlook the end to     
which these are the means--and give them
 an undue preference over that end      
itself4 ,still more ,i object to their  
arrogating to the possessors of these   
qualities of hand and eye all power of  
judging that which is conveyed through  
the physical vision into the inward     
soul4  ,on looking over what ,i have    
written1 ,i find that ,i have used some 
expressions with regard to painters as a
 body which may make it appear that ,i  
hold them in light esteem2 whereas no   
one can admire their art1 or appreciate 
their pursuit of it1 more highly than ,i
 do4 ,of what ,i have said1 however1    
with regard to their paltry denial of   

each other's merits1 ,i cannot bate them
 an ace4 ,i appeal to all those who are 
in the habit of associating with        
painters to say whether my assertion be 
not correct4 ,and why should they do    
this8--surely the field is wide enough4 
,haydon and ,wilkie can travel to fame  
together without ever jostling each     
other by the way4 ,surely there are     
parallel roads which may be followed1   
each leading to the same point--but     
neither crossing or trenching upon one  
another4  ,the ,art of ,painting is one 
equally delightful to the eye and to the
 mind4 ,it has very nearly the reality  
of dramatic exhibition1 and has         
permanence1 which that is wholly        
without4 ,we may gaze at a picture1 and 
pause to think1 and turn and gaze again4
 ,the art is inferior to poetry in      
magnitude of extent and succession of   
detail--but its power over any one point
 is far superior3 it seizes it1 and     
figures it forth in corporeal existence 
if not in bodily life4 ,it gives to the 

eye the physical semblance of those     
figures which have floated in vagueness 
in the mind4 ,it condenses indistinct   
and gauzy visions into palpable         
forms--as1 in the story1 the morning    
mist gathered into the embodying a      
spirit4 ,but shall it be said that the  
enchanter alone can judge of the        
enchantment--that none shall have an eye
 to see1 and a heart to feel1 unless he 
have also a hand to execute8 ,alas1 our 
inherent perceptions give the lie to    
this4 ,as ,i used to go to the ,louvre1 
day after day1 to glut myself and revel 
in the congregated genius of pictorial  
ages1 would any one convince me that it 
was necessary to be able to paint that  
,i might duly appreciate a picture8     
,,the ,,vatican   ,l4 ,the ,vatican did 
not quite answer your expectation8  ,h4 
,to say the truth1 it was not such a    
blow as the ,louvre2 but then it came   
after it1 and what is more1 at the      
distance of twenty years4 ,to have made 
the same impression1 it should have been

 twenty times as fine2 though that was  
scarcely possible1 since all that there 
is fine in the ,vatican1 in ,italy1 or  
in the world1 was in the ,louvre when ,i
 first saw it1 except the frescoes of   
,raphael and ,michael ,angelo1 which    
could not be transported1 without taking
 the walls of the building1 across the  
,alps4  ,l4 ,and what1 may ,i ask 7for  
,i am curious to hear17 did you think of
 these same frescoes8  ,h4 ,much the    
same as before ,i saw them4 ,as far as  
,i could judge1 they are very like the  
prints4 ,i do not think the spectator's 
idea of them is enhanced beyond this4   
,the ,raphaels1 of which you have a     
distinct and admirable view1 are        
somewhat faded--,i do not mean in       
colour1 but the outline is injured--and 
the ,sibyls and ,prophets in the        
,sistine ,chapel are painted on the     
ceiling at too great a height for the   
eye to distinguish the faces as         
accurately as one would wish4 ,the      
features and expressions of the figures 

near the bottom of the #8,last          
,judgment' are sufficiently plain1 and  
horrible enough they are4  ,l4 ,what was
 your opinion of the #8,last ,judgment' 
itself8  ,h4 ,it is literally too big to
 be seen4 ,it is like an immense field  
of battle1 or charnel-house1 strewed    
with carcases and naked bodies3 or it is
 a shambles of ,art4 ,you have huge     
limbs apparently torn from their bodies 
and stuck against the wall3 anatomical  
dissections1 backs and diaphragms1      
tumbling #8with hideous ruin and        
combustion down1' neither intelligible  
groups1 nor perspective1 nor colour2 you
 distinguish the principal figure1 that 
of ,christ1 only from its standing in   
the centre of the picture1 on a sort of 
island of earth1 separated from the rest
 of the subject by an inlet of sky4 ,the
 whole is a scene of enormous1 ghastly  
confusion1 in which you can only make   
out quantity and number1 and vast1      
uncouth masses of bones and muscles4 ,it
 has the incoherence and distortion of a

 troubled dream1 without the            
shadowiness2 everything is here         
corporeal and of solid dimensions4  ,l4 
,but surely there must be something fine
 in the ,sibyls and ,prophets1 from the 
copies we have of them2 justifying the  
high encomiums of ,sir ,joshua          
,reynolds1 and of so many others4  ,h4  
,it appears to me that nothing can be   
finer as to form1 attitude1 and outline4
 ,the whole conception is so far        
inimitably noble and just2 and all that 
is felt as wanting1 is a proportionable 
degree of expression in the             
countenances1 though of this ,i am not  
sure1 for the height 7as ,i said before7
 baffles a nice scrutiny4 ,they look to 
me unfinished1 vague1 and general4 ,like
 some fabulous figure from the antique1 
the heads were brutal1 the bodies       
divine4 ,or at most1 the faces were only
 continuations of and on a par with the 
physical form1 large and bold1 and with 
great breadth of drawing1 but no more   
the seat of a vivifying spirit1 or with 

a more powerful and marked intelligence 
emanating from them1 than from the rest 
of the limbs1 the hands1 or even        
drapery4 ,the filling up of the mind is1
 ,i suspect1 wanting1 the divin         
particula aur3 there is prodigious and  
mighty prominence and grandeur and      
simplicity in the features1 but they are
 not surcharged with meaning1 with      
thought or passion1 like ,raphael's1    
#8the rapt soul sitting in the eyes4'   
,on the contrary1 they seem only to be  
half-informed1 and might be almost      
thought asleep4 ,they are fine moulds1  
and contain a capacity of expression1   
but are not bursting1 teeming with it4  
,the outward material shrine1 or        
tabernacle1 is unexceptionable2 but     
there is not superadded to it a         
revelation of the workings of the mind  
within4 ,the forms in ,michael ,angelo  
are objects to admire in themselves3    
those of ,raphael are merely a language 
pointing to something beyond1 and full  
of this ultimate import4  ,l4 ,but does 

not the difference arise from the nature
 of the subjects8  ,h4 ,i should think1 
not4 ,surely1 a ,sibyl in the height of 
her phrensy1 or an inspired             
,prophet--#8seer blest'--in the act of  
receiving or of announcing the will of  
the ,almighty1 is not a less fit subject
 for the most exalted and impassioned   
expression than an ,apostle1 a ,pope1 a 
,saint1 or a common man4 ,if you say    
that these persons are not represented  
in the act of inspired communication1   
but in their ordinary quiescent         
state1--granted2 but such preternatural 
workings1 as well as the character and  
frame of mind proper for them1 must     
leave their shadowings and lofty traces 
behind them4 ,the face that has once    
held communion with the ,most ,high1 or 
been wrought to madness by deep thought 
and passion1 or that inly broods over   
its sacred or its magic lore1 must be   
#8as a book where one may read strange  
matters1' that cannot be opened without 
a correspondent awe and reverence4 ,but 

here is #8neither the cloud by day nor  
the pillar of fire by night3' neither   
the blaze of immediate inspiration nor  
the hallowed radiance1 the mystic gloomy
 light that follows it1 so far as ,i was
 able to perceive4 ,i think it idle to  
say that ,michael ,angelo painted man in
 the abstract1 and so left the          
expression indeterminate1 when he       
painted prophets and other given        
characters in particular4 ,he has       
painted them on a larger scale1 and cast
 their limbs in a gigantic mould to give
 a dignity and command answering to     
their situations and high calling1 but  
,i do not see the same high character   
and intensity of thought or purpose     
impressed upon their countenances4      
,thus1 nothing can be nobler or more    
characteristic than the figure of the   
prophet ,jeremiah4 ,it is not           
abstracted1 but symbolical of the       
history and functions of the individual4
 ,the whole figure bends and droops     
under a weight of woe1 like a large     

willow tree surcharged with showers4    
,yet there is no peculiar expression of 
grief in one part more than another2 the
 head hangs down despondingly indeed1   
but so do the hands1 the clothes1 and   
every part seems to labour under and be 
involved in a complication of distress4 
,again1 the prophet ,ezra is represented
 reading in a striking attitude of      
attention1 and with the book held close 
to him as if to lose no part of its     
contents in empty space3--all this is   
finely imagined and designed1 but then  
the book reflects back none of its      
pregnant1 hieroglyphic meaning on the   
face1 which1 though large and stately1  
is an ordinary1 unimpassioned1 and even 
unideal one4 ,daniel1 again1 is meant   
for a face of inward thought and musing1
 but it might seem as if the compression
 of the features were produced by       
external force as much as by involuntary
 perplexity4 ,i might extend these      
remarks to this artist's other works2   
for instance1 to the ,moses1 of which   

the form and attitude express the utmost
 dignity and energy of purpose1 but the 
face wants a something of the           
intelligence and expansive views of the 
,hebrew legislator4 ,it is cut from the 
same block1 and by the same bold        
sweeping hand1 as the sandals or the    
drapery4  ,l4 ,do you think there is any
 truth or value in the distinction which
 assigns to ,raphael the dramatic1 and  
to ,michael ,angelo the epic department 
of the art8  ,h4 ,very little1 ,i       
confess4 ,it is so far true1 that       
,michael ,angelo painted single figures1
 and ,raphael chiefly groups2 but       
,michael ,angelo gave life and action to
 his figures1 though not the same       
expression to the face4 ,i think this   
arose from two circumstances4 ,first1   
from his habits as a sculptor1 in which 
form predominates1 and in which the     
fixed lineaments are more attended to   
than the passing inflections1 which are 
neither so easily caught nor so well    
given in sculpture as in painting4      

,secondly1 it strikes me that ,michael  
,angelo1 who was a strong1 iron-built   
man1 sympathised more with the organic  
structure1 with bones and muscles1 than 
with the more subtle and sensitive      
workings of that fine medullary         
substance called the brain4 ,he         
compounded man admirably of brass or    
clay1 but did not succeed equally in    
breathing into his nostrils the breath  
of life1 of thought or feeling4 ,he has 
less humanity than ,raphael1 and ,i     
think that he is also less divine1      
unless it be asserted that the body is  
less allied to earth than the mind4     
,expression is1 after all1 the principal
 thing4 ,if ,michael ,angelo's forms    
have1 as ,i allow1 an intellectual      
character about them and a greatness of 
gusto1 so that you would almost say     
#8his bodies thought2' his faces1 on the
 other hand1 have a drossy and material 
one4 ,for example1 in the figure of     
,adam coming from the hand of his       
,creator1 the composition1 which goes on

 the idea of a being starting into life 
at the touch of ,omnipotence1 is        
sublime3--the figure of ,adam1 reclined 
at ease with manly freedom and          
independence1 is worthy of the original 
founder of our race2 and the expression 
of the face1 implying passive           
resignation and the first consciousness 
of existence1 is in thorough            
keeping--but ,i see nothing in the      
countenance of the ,deity denoting      
supreme might and majesty4 ,the ,eve1   
too1 lying extended at the foot of the  
,forbidden ,tree1 has an elasticity and 
buoyancy about it1 that seems as if it  
could bound up from the earth of its own
 accord1 like a bow that has been bent4 
,it is all life and grace4 ,the action  
of the head thrown back1 and the upward 
look1 correspond to the rest4 ,the      
artist was here at home4 ,in like       
manner1 in the allegorical figures of   
,night and ,morn at ,florence1 the faces
 are ugly or distorted1 but the contour 
and actions of the limbs express dignity

 and power1 in the very highest degree4 
,the legs of the figure of ,night1 in   
particular1 are twisted into the        
involutions of a serpent's folds2 the   
neck is curved like the horse's1 and is 
clothed with thunder4  ,l4 ,what1 then1 
is the precise difference between him   
and ,raphael1 according to your         
conception8  ,h4 ,as far as ,i can      
explain the matter1 it seems to me that 
,michael ,angelo's forms are finer1 but 
that ,raphael's are more fraught with   
meaning2 that the rigid outline and     
disposable masses in the first are more 
grand and imposing1 but that ,raphael   
puts a greater proportion of sentiment  
into his1 and calls into play every     
faculty of mind and body of which his   
characters are susceptible1 with greater
 subtilty and intensity of feeling4     
,dryden's lines--                  #8,a 
fiery soul that working out its way     
,fretted the pigmy body to decay1       
,and o'er-inform'd the tenement of      
clay'--  do not exactly answer to       

,raphael's character1 which is mild and 
thoughtful rather than fiery2 nor is    
there any want either of grace or       
grandeur in his figures2 but the passage
 describes the #8o'er-informing' spirit 
that breathes through them1 and the     
unequal struggle of the expression to   
vent itself by more than ordinary       
physical means4 ,raphael lived a much   
shorter time than ,michael ,angelo1 who 
also lived long after him2 and there is 
no comparison between the number1 the   
variety1 or the finished elegance of    
their works4#ec ,michael ,angelo        
possibly lost himself in the material   
and instrumental part of art1 in        
embodying a technical theory1 or in     
acquiring the grammar of different      
branches of study1 excelling in         
knowledge and in gravity of pretension2 
whereas ,raphael gave himself up to the 
diviner or lovelier impulse that        
breathes its soul over the face of      
things1 being governed by a sense of    
reality and of general truth4 ,there is 

nothing exclusive or repulsive in       
,raphael2 he is open to all impressions 
alike1 and seems to identify himself    
with whatever he saw that arrested his  
attention or could interest others4     
,michael ,angelo studied for himself1   
and raised objects to the standards of  
his conception1 by a formula or system3 
,raphael invented for others1 and was   
guided only by sympathy with them4      
,michael ,angelo was painter1 sculptor1 
architect2 but he might be said to make 
of each art a shrine in which to build  
up the stately and gigantic stature of  
his own mind3--,raphael was only a      
painter1 but in that one art he seemed  
to pour out all the treasures and       
various excellence of nature1 grandeur  
and scope of design1 exquisite          
finishing1 force1 grace1 delicacy1 the  
strength of man1 the softness of woman1 
the playfulness of infancy1 thought1    
feeling1 invention1 imitation1 labour1  
ease1 and every quality that can        
distinguish a picture1 except colour4   

,michael ,angelo1 in a word1 stamped his
 own character on his works1 or recast  
,nature in a mould of his own1 leaving  
out much that was excellent3 ,raphael   
received his inspiration from without1  
and his genius caught the lambent flame 
of grace1 of truth1 and grandeur1 which 
are reflected in his works with a light 
clear1 transparent and unfading4  ,l4   
,will you mention one or two things that
 particularly struck you8  ,h4 ,there is
 a figure of a man leading a horse in   
the ,attila1 which ,i think peculiarly  
characteristic4 ,it is an ordinary face 
and figure1 in a somewhat awkward dress3
 but he seems as if he had literally    
walked into the picture at that instant2
 he is looking forward with a mixture of
 earnestness and curiosity1 as if the   
scene were passing before him1 and every
 part of his figure and dress is        
flexible and in motion1 pliant to the   
painter's plastic touch4 ,this figure1  
so unconstrained and free1 animated1    
salient1 put me in mind1 compared with  

the usual stiffness and shackles of the 
art1 of chain-armour used by the knights
 of old instead of coat-of-mail4        
,raphael's fresco figures seem the least
 of all others taken from plaster-casts2
 this is more than can be said of       
,michael ,angelo's1 which might be taken
 from1 or would serve for very noble    
ones4 ,the horses in the same picture   
also delight me4 ,though dumb1 they     
appear as though they could speak1 and  
were privy to the import of the scene4  
,their inflated nostrils and speckled   
skins are like a kind of proud flesh2 or
 they are animals spiritualised4 ,in the
 ,miracle of ,bolsano is that group of  
children1 round-faced1 smiling1 with    
large-orbed eyes1 like infancy nestling 
in the arms of affection2 the studied   
elegance of the choir of tender novices1
 with all their sense of the godliness  
of their function and the beauty of     
holiness2 and the hard1 liny1 individual
 portraits of priests and cardinals on  
the right-hand1 which have the same     

life1 spirit1 boldness1 and marked      
character1 as if you could have looked  
in upon the assembled conclave4 ,neither
 painting nor popery ever produced      
anything finer4 ,there is the utmost    
hardness and materiality of outline1    
with a spirit of fire4 ,the ,school of  
,athens is full of striking parts and   
ingenious contrasts2 but ,i prefer to it
 the ,convocation of ,saints1 with that 
noble circle of ,prophets and ,apostles 
in the sky1 on whose bent foreheads and 
downcast eyes you see written the ,city 
of the ,blest1 the beatific presence of 
the ,most ,high and the ,glory hereafter
 to be revealed1 a solemn brightness and
 a fearful dream1 and that scarce less  
inspired circle of sages canonised here 
on earth1 poets1 heroes1 and            
philosophers1 with the painter himself1 
entering on one side like the recording 
angel1 smiling in youthful beauty1 and  
scarce conscious of the scene he has    
embodied4 ,if there is a failure in any 
of these frescoes1 it is1 ,i think1 in  

the ,parnassus1 in which there is       
something quaint and affected4 ,in the  
,st4 ,peter delivered from prison1 he   
has burst with ,rembrandt into the dark 
chambers of night1 and thrown a glory   
round them4 ,in the story of ,cupid and 
,psyche1 at the ,little ,farnese1 he    
has1 ,i think1 even surpassed himself in
 a certain swelling and voluptuous      
grace1 as if beauty grew and ripened    
under his touch1 and the very genius of 
ancient fable hovered over his enamoured
 pencil4  ,l4 ,i believe you when you   
praise1 not always when you condemn4    
,was there anything else that you saw to
 give you a higher idea of him than the 
specimens we have in this country8  ,h4 
,nothing superior to the ,cartoons for  
boldness of design and execution2 but ,i
 think his best oil pictures are abroad1
 though ,i had seen most of them before 
in the ,louvre4 ,i had not1 however1    
seen the ,crowning of the ,virgin1 which
 is in the ,picture-gallery of the      
,vatican1 and appears to me one of his  

very highest-wrought pictures4 ,the     
,virgin in the clouds is of an admirable
 sedateness and dignity1 and over the   
throng of breathing faces below there is
 poured a stream of joy and fervid      
devotion that can be compared to nothing
 but the golden light that evening skies
 pour on the edges of the surging waves4
 #8,hope elevates1 and joy brightens    
their every feature4' ,the ,foligno     
,virgin was at ,paris1 in which ,i      
cannot say ,i am quite satisfied with   
the ,madonna2 it has rather a prcieuse  
expression2 but ,i know not enough how  
to admire the innumerable heads of      
cherubs surrounding her1 touched in with
 such care and delicacy1 yet so as      
scarcely to be perceptible except on    
close inspection1 nor that figure of the
 winged cherub below1 offering the      
casket1 and with his round1 chubby face 
and limbs as full of rosy health and    
joy1 as the cup is full of the juice of 
the purple vine4 ,there is another      
picture of his ,i will mention1 the ,leo

 ,x4 in the ,palace ,pitti1 #8on his    
front engraven thought and public care2 
#8and again1 that little portrait in a  
cup in the ,louvre1 muffled in thought  
and buried in a kind of mental chiaro   
scuro4 ,when ,i think of these and so   
many other of his inimitable works1     
#8scattered like stray-gifts o'er the   
earth1' meeting our thoughts half-way1  
and yet carrying them farther than we   
should have been able of ourselves1     
enriching1 refining1 exalting all       
around1 ,i am at a loss to find motives 
for equal admiration or gratitude in    
what ,michael ,angelo has left1 though  
his ,prophets and ,sibyls on the walls  
of the ,sistine ,chapel are thumping    
make-weights thrown into the opposite   
scale4 ,it is nearly impossible to weigh
 or measure their different merits4     
,perhaps ,michael ,angelo's works1 in   
their vastness and unity1 may give a    
greater blow to some imaginations and   
lift the mind more out of itself1 though
 accompanied with less delight or food  

for reflection1 resembling the rocky    
precipice1 whose #8stately height though
 bare' overlooks the various excellence 
and beauty of subjected art4  ,l4 ,i do 
not think your premises warrant your    
conclusion4 ,if what you have said of   
each is true1 ,i should give the        
undoubted preference to ,raphael as at  
least the greater painter1 if not the   
greater man4 ,i must prefer the finest  
face to the largest mask4  ,h4 ,i wish  
you could see and judge for yourself4   
,l4 ,i prythee do not mock me4 ,proceed 
with your account4 ,was there nothing   
else worth mentioning after ,raphael and
 ,michael ,angelo8  ,h4 ,so much1 that  
it has slipped from my memory4 ,there   
are the finest statues in the world     
there1 and they are scattered and put   
into niches or separate little rooms for
 effect1 and not congregated together   
like a meeting of the marble gods of    
mythology1 as was the case in the       
,louvre4 ,there are some of ,canova's1  
worked up to a high pitch of perfection1

 which might just as well have been left
 alone--and there are none1 ,i think1   
equal to the ,elgin marbles4 ,a bath of 
one of the ,antonines1 of solid porphyry
 and as large as a good-sized room1     
struck me as the strongest proof of     
ancient magnificence4 ,the busts are    
innumerable1 inimitable1 have a         
breathing clearness and transparency1   
revive ancient history1 and are very    
like actual ,english heads and          
characters4 ,the inscriptions alone on  
fragments of antique marble would       
furnish years of study to the curious or
 learned in that way4 ,the vases are    
most elegant--of proportions and        
materials unrivalled in taste and in    
value4 ,there are some tapestry copies  
of the ,cartoons1 very glaring and      
unpleasant to look at4 ,the room        
containing the coloured maps of ,italy1 
done about three hundred years ago1 is  
one of the longest and most striking2   
and the passing through it with the     
green hillocks1 rivers1 and mountains on

 its spotty sides1 is like going a      
delightful and various journey4 ,you    
recall or anticipate the most           
interesting scenes and objects4 ,out of 
the windows of these long straggling    
galleries1 you look down into a         
labyrinth of inner and of outer courts1 
or catch the ,dome of ,st ,peter's      
adjoining 7like a huge shadow71 or gaze 
at the distant amphitheatre of hills    
surrounding the ,sacred ,city1 which    
excite a pleasing awe1 whether          
considered as the haunts of banditti or 
from a recollection of the wondrous     
scene1 the hallowed spot1 on which they 
have overlooked for ages1 ,imperial or  
,papal ,rome1 or her commonwealth1 more 
august than either4 ,here also in one   
chamber of the ,vatican is a room       
stuffed full of artists1 copying the    
,transfiguration1 or the ,st4 ,jerome of
 ,domenichino1 spitting1 shrugging1 and 
taking snuff1 admiring their own        
performances and sneering at those of   
their neighbours2 and on certain days of

 the week the whole range of the rooms  
is thrown open without reserve to the   
entire population of ,rome and its      
environs1 priests and peasants1 with    
heads not unlike those that gleam from  
the walls1 perfect in expression and in 
costume1 and young peasant girls in     
clouted shoes with looks of pleasure1   
timidity and wonder1 such as those with 
which ,raphael himself1 from the        
portraits of him1 might be supposed to  
have hailed the dawn of heaven-born art4
 ,there is also 7to mention small works 
with great7 a portrait of ,george the   
,fourth in his robes 7a present to his  
,holiness7 turned into an outer room2   
and a tablet erected by him in ,st4     
,peter's1 to the memory of ,james ,,iii4
 ,would you believe it8 ,cosmo ,comyne  
,bradwardine1 when he saw the averted   
looks of the good people of ,england as 
they proclaimed his ,majesty ,james     
,,iii4 in any of the towns through which
 they passed1 would not have believed   
it4 ,fergus ,maclvor1 when in answer to 

the crier of the court1 who repeated    
#8,long live ,king ,george6' he         
retorted1 #8,long live ,king ,james6'   
would not have believed it possible6    
,l4 ,hang your politics4  ,h4 ,never    
mind1 if they do not hang me4           
,,english ,,students ,,at ,,rome        
#8,no wher so besy a man as he ther     
n'as1      ,and yet he semed besier than
 he was4'                               
,prologue to the ,canterbury ,tales4    
,rome is of all places the worst to     
study in1 for the same reason that it is
 the best to lounge in4 ,there is no end
 of objects to divert and distract the  
mind4 ,if a person has no other view    
than to pass away his time1 to fill his 
portfolio or common-place book1 or to   
improve his general taste and knowledge1
 he may find employment and amusement   
here for ever3 if ever he wishes to do  
any thing1 he should fly from it as he  
would from the plague4 ,there is a      
species of malaria hanging over it1     
which infects both the mind and the     

body4 ,it has been the seat of too much 
activity and luxury formerly1 not to    
have produced a correspondent torpor and
 stagnation 7both in the physical and   
moral world7 as the natural consequence 
at present4 ,if ,necessity is the mother
 of ,invention it must be stifled in the
 birth here1 where every thing is       
already done and provided to your hand  
that you could possibly wish for or     
think of4 ,you have no stimulus to      
exertion1 for you have but to open your 
eyes and see1 in order to live in a     
continued round of delight and          
admiration4 ,the doors of a splendid    
banquet of all that is rare and rich in 
art stand ready open to you1 you are    
invited to enter in and feast your      
senses and your imagination gratis2 and 
it is not likely that1 under these      
circumstances1 you will try to earn a   
scanty meal by hard labour1 or even to  
gain an appetite by wholesome exercise4 
,the same thing occurs here that is     
objected to the inhabitants of great    

cities in general4 ,they have too many  
objects always passing before them1 that
 engage their attention and fill up     
their time1 to allow them either much   
leisure or inclination for thought or   
study4 ,rome is the great metropolis of 
,art2 and it is somewhat to be feared   
that those who take up their abode there
 will become1 like other cockneys1      
ignorant1 conceited1 and superficial4   
,the queen and mistress of the ancient  
and the modern world claims such a      
transcendent superiority over the mind1 
that you look down as it were from this 
eminence on the rest of mankind2 and    
from the contempt you feel for others1  
come to have a mighty good opinion of   
yourself4 ,the being at ,rome 7both from
 the sound of the name and the monuments
 of genius and magnificence she has to  
show7 is of itself a sufficient         
distinction without doing anything      
there4 ,after viewing some splendid     
relic of antiquity1 the efforts of      
contemporary art sink into              

insignificance and nothingness3 but we  
are disposed to occupy the vacant space1
 the clear ground thus created1 with our
 own puny pretensions and aspiring      
fancies4 ,as this indulgence of         
alternate enthusiasm and reflected      
self-complacency is a never-failing     
source of gratification1 and a much less
 laborious one than the embodying our   
vain imaginations in practice1 we easily
 rest in the means as the end2 and      
without making any farther progress1 are
 perfectly satisfied with what others   
have done1 and what we are to do4 ,we   
indeed wear the livery1 and follow in   
the train of greatness2 and1 like other 
livery-servants1 despise the rabble1    
growing more lazy1 affected1 luxurious1 
insolent1 trifling1 and incapable of    
gaining an honest livelihood every hour4
 ,we are the dupes of flattering        
appearances and of false comparisons    
between ourselves and others4 ,we think 
that a familiarity with great names and 
great works is an approach to an        

equality with them2 or fondly proceed to
 establish our own pretensions on the   
ruins of others1 not considering that if
 it were not what we do1 but what we    
see1 that is the standard of            
proficiency1 thousands of spectators    
might give themselves the same airs of  
self-importance on the same idle score1 
and treat us as barbarians and poor     
creatures1 if they had our impertinence 
and presumption4 ,we stand before a     
picture of some great master1 and fancy 
there is nothing between him and us3 we 
walk under the ,dome of ,st4 ,peter's1  
and it seems to grow larger with a      
consciousness of our presence and with  
the amplitude of our conceptions4 ,all  
this is fine as well as easy work2 nor  
can it be supposed that we shall be in  
any haste to exchange this waking dream 
for the drudgery of mechanical exertion1
 or for the mortifying evidence of the  
disparity between our theory and our    
practice4 ,all the great names and      
schools of art stand proxy for us1 till 

we choose to take the responsibility on 
our own shoulders2 and as it happens in 
other cases1 we have no objection to    
make our faith in the merits of others a
 convenient substitute for good works   
and zealous exertions in the cause4 ,yet
 a common stone-mason or sign-painter1  
who understands the use of his tools and
 sticks close to his business1 has more 
resemblance to ,raphael or ,michael     
,angelo1 and stands a better chance of  
achieving something great1 than those   
who visit the ,corridors of the ,vatican
 or ,st4 ,peter's once a day1 return    
home1 spend the evening in extolling    
what they have witnessed1 begin a sketch
 or a plan and lay it aside1 and saunter
 out again the next day in search of    
fresh objects to dissipate ennui and    
kill the time without being obliged to  
draw for one instant on their own       
resources or resolution4  ,numberless   
are the instances of those who go on    
thus1 while vanity and indolence        
together are confirmed into an incurable

 disease1 the sleek1 pampered tone of   
which they mistake for the marks of     
taste and genius4 ,what other result can
 be expected8 ,if they do any thing1 it 
is all over with them4 ,they not only   
strip off the mask from their own       
self-love1 but expose themselves to the 
pity and derision of their competitors1 
whom they before affected to despise4   
,within #8the vast1 the unbounded'      
circle of pretension1 of vapouring1 and 
inuendo1 they are safe3 the future      
would-be ,raphaels1 ,correggios1 c4 have
 nothing to dread from criticism while  
they hatch their embryo conquests and   
prepare a distant triumph3 no one can   
apply ,ithuriel's spear to detect what  
is confessedly a shadow4 ,but they must 
waive this privilege when they descend  
into the common lists2 and in proportion
 as they have committed themselves in   
conversation or in idle fancy1 they are 
ashamed to commit themselves in reality1
 because any thing they could do at     
first must unavoidably fall short of    

that high standard of excellence1 which 
7if at all7 can only be attained by the 
labour and experience of a whole life4  
,their real incapacity shrinks from the 
pomp of their professions4 ,the         
magnificence of the air-drawn edifice of
 their reputation prevents them from    
laying the first stone in downright     
earnest2 and they have no other mode of 
excusing the delay1 and the indecision  
it betokens1 than by assuming still     
greater delicacy of taste and loftiness 
of ambition1 and by thus aggrandising   
their unfounded schemes1 rendering their
 execution more hopeless and impossible4
 ,should they begin something1 a new    
thought strikes them1 and they throw    
aside a very promising sketch to enlarge
 their canvass and proceed upon a scale 
more worthy of them3 to this enlarged   
design some object is indispensably     
necessary1 which is unluckily           
wanting3--thus time is gained1 a new    
lease of credit is granted1 and instead 
of putting the last hand to the original

 sketch1 they take merit to themselves  
for the enlargement of their views and  
the determined pursuit of the higher    
walk of art4 ,meantime1 the smaller     
picture stands unfinished on the easel1 
and nominal commissions pour in for new 
and more extended projects4 ,then comes 
a new secret of colouring1 a new        
principle of grouping1 a new theory1 a  
new book--always something to draw off  
the attention from its proper object1   
and to substitute laborious idleness for
 true pains and profitable study4 ,then 
a picture is to be copied as a          
preparation for undertaking a given     
subject1 or a library to be ransacked to
 ascertain the precise truth of the     
historical facts or the exact conception
 of the characters2 and after a year    
thus lost in desultory and scrupulous   
researches1 the whole plan is given up1 
either because no one comes forward     
effectually to patronise it1 or because 
some more tempting prospect is opened   
into the realms of art and high renown4 

,then again friends are to be consulted2
 some admire one thing1 some another2   
some recommend the study of nature1     
others are all for the antique2 some    
insist on the utmost finishing1 others  
explode all attention to minuti2 artists
 find one fault1 the uninstructed       
spectator another2 and in going         
backwards and forwards from one to      
another1 listening to new reasons and   
new objections1 in reconciling all      
parties and pleasing none1 life is      
passed in endless doubts and            
difficulties1 and we discover that our  
most valuable years have fled in busy   
preparations to do--nothing4 ,it is then
 too late1 and we consume the remainder 
in vain regrets and querulous repinings1
 as we did the flower and marrow of our 
time in fanciful speculation and        
egregious trifling4 ,the student should 
of all things steer clear of the        
character of the dilettanti--it is the  
rock on which he is most likely to      
split4 ,pleasure1 or extravagance1 or   

positive idleness1 are less dangerous2  
for these he knows to be fatal to his   
success1 and he indulges in them with   
his eyes open4 ,but in the other case1  
he is thrown off his guard by the most  
plausible appearances4 ,vanity here puts
 on the garb of humility1 indecision of 
long-sighted perseverance1 and habitual 
sloth of constant industry4 ,few will   
reproach us1 while we are accumulating  
the means of ultimate success1 with     
neglecting the end2 or remind us that   
though art is long1 life is short4 ,it  
is true1 that art is a long and steep   
ascent1 but we must learn to scale it by
 regular1 practical stages1 and not by a
 hasty wish or still more futile        
calculations and measurements of the    
height4 ,we can only indeed be sensible 
of its real height by the actual        
progress we have made1 and by the       
glorious views that gradually dawn upon 
us1 the cheerers of our way1 and the    
harbingers of our success4 ,it is only  
by attempting something that we feel    

where our strength lies1 and if we have 
what travellers call a forte journe to  
perform1 it is the more indispensable   
that we should set out betimes and not  
loiter on the road4 ,what is well done  
is the consequence of doing             
much--perfection is the reward of       
numberless attempts and failures4 ,the  
chief requisites are a practised hand   
and eye1 and an active imagination4     
,indolent taste and passive acquirements
 are not enough4 ,they will neither     
supply our wants while living1 nor      
enable us to leave a name behind us     
after we are dead4 ,farther1 the        
brooding over excellence with a feverish
 importunity1 and stimulating ourselves 
to great things by an abstract love of  
fame1 can do little good1 and may do    
much harm4 ,it is1 no doubt1 a very     
delightful and enviable state of mind to
 be in1 but neither a very arduous nor a
 very profitable one4 ,nothing          
remarkable was ever done1 except by     
following up the impulse of our own     

minds1 by grappling with difficulties   
and improving our advantages1 not by    
dreaming over our own premature triumphs
 or doating on the achievements of      
others4  ,if it were nothing else1 the  
having the works of the great masters of
 former times always before us is enough
 to discourage and defeat all ordinary  
attempts4 ,how many elegant designs and 
meritorious conceptions must lie buried 
under the high arched porticoes of the  
,vatican6 ,the walls of the ,sistine    
,chapel must fall upon the head of      
inferior pretensions and crush them4    
,what minor pencil can stand in         
competition with the #8petrific mace'   
that painted the ,last ,judgment8 ,what 
fancy can expand into blooming grace and
 beauty by the side of the ,heliodorus8 
,what is it we could add1 or what       
occasion1 what need1 what pretence is   
there to add anything to the art after  
this8 ,who in the presence of such      
glorious works does not wish to shrink  
into himself1 or to live only for them8 

,is it not a profanation to think he can
 hope to do any thing like them8 ,and   
who1 having once seen1 can think with   
common patience or with zealous         
enthusiasm of doing aught but treading  
in their footsteps8 ,if the artist has a
 genius and turn of mind at all similar1
 they baulk and damp him by their       
imposing stately height3 if his talent  
lies in a different and humbler walk1   
they divert and unsettle his mind4 ,if  
he is contented to look on and admire1 a
 vague and unattainable idea of         
excellence floats before his            
imagination1 and tantalises him with    
equally vain hopes and wishes4 ,if he   
copies1 he becomes a mechanic2 and      
besides1 runs another risk4 ,he finds he
 can with ease produce in three days an 
incomparably finer effect than he could 
do with all his efforts1 and after any  
length of time1 in working without      
assistance4 ,he is therefore            
disheartened and put out of countenance1
 and returns with reluctance to original

 composition3 for where is the sense of 
taking ten times the pains and          
undergoing ten times the anxiety to     
produce not one hundredth part of the   
effect8 ,when ,i was young1 ,i made one 
or two studies of strong contrasts of   
light and shade in the manner of        
,rembrandt with great care and 7as it   
was thought7 with some success4 ,but    
after ,i had once copied some of        
,titian's portraits in the ,louvre1 my  
ambition took a higher flight4 ,nothing 
would serve my turn but heads like      
,titian--,titian expressions1 ,titian   
complexions1 ,titian dresses2 and as ,i 
could not find these where ,i was1 after
 one or two abortive attempts to engraft
 ,italian art on ,english nature1 ,i    
flung away my pencil in disgust and     
despair4 ,otherwise ,i might have done  
as well as others1 ,i dare say1 but from
 a desire to do too well4 ,i did not    
consider that ,nature is always the     
great thing1 or that #8,pan is a god1   
,apollo is no more6'--,nor is the       

student repelled and staggered in his   
progress only by the degree of          
excellence1 but distracted and puzzled  
by the variety of incompatible claims   
upon his ingenuous and sincere          
enthusiasm4 ,while any one attends to   
what circumstances bring in his way1 or 
keeps in the path that is prompted by   
his own genius 7such as it may be71 he  
stands a fair chance1 by directing all  
his efforts to one point1 to compass the
 utmost object of his ambition4 ,but    
what likelihood is there of this from   
the moment that all the great schools1  
and all the most precious chef-d'uvres  
of art1 at once unveil their diversified
 attractions to his astonished sight8   
,what ,protestant1 for instance1 can be 
properly and permanently imbued with the
 fervent devotion or saint-like purity  
of the ,catholic religion1 or hope to   
transfer the pride1 pomp1 and pageantry 
of that detested superstition to his own
 canvass1 with real feeling and con     
amore8 ,what modern can enter fully into

 the spirit of the ancient ,greek       
mythology1 or rival the symmetry of its 
naked forms8 ,what single individual    
will presume to unite #8the colouring of
 ,titian1 the drawing of ,raphael1 the  
airs of ,guido1 the learning of         
,poussin1 the purity of ,domenichino1   
the correggiescity of ,correggio1 and   
the grand contour of ,michael ,angelo1' 
in the same composition8 ,yet those who 
are familiar with all these different   
styles and their excellences1 require   
them all4 ,mere originality will not    
suffice1 it is quaint and               
,gothic--common-place perfection is     
still more intolerable1 it is insipid   
and mechanical4 ,modern ,art is indeed  
like the fabled ,sphinx1 that imposes   
impossible tasks on her votaries1 and as
 she clasps them to her bosom pierces   
them to the heart4 ,let a man have a    
turn and taste for landscape1 she       
whispers him that nothing is truly      
interesting but the human face3 if he   
makes a successful debut in portrait1 he

 soon 7under the same auspices7 aspires 
to history2 but if painting in its      
highest walks seems within his reach1   
she then plays off the solid forms and  
shining surfaces of sculpture before his
 eyes1 urging him to combine the simple 
grandeur of the ,antique with ,canova's 
polished elegance2 or he is haunted with
 the majestic effects and scientific    
rules of architecture1 and ruined       
temples and broken fragments nod in his 
bewildered imagination6 ,what is to be  
done in this case8 ,what generally is   
done--,nothing4 ,amidst so many         
pretensions1 how is choice possible8 ,or
 where all are equally objects of taste 
and knowledge1 how rest satisfied       
without giving some proofs of our       
practical proficiency in all8 ,to mould 
a clay-figure that if finished might    
surpass the ,venus2 to make a           
pen-and-ink drawing after a splendid    
piece of colouring by ,titian2 to give  
the picturesque effect of the arch of   
some ancient aqueduct as seen by        

moonlight2 some such meagre abstractions
 and flimsy refinements in art are among
 the spolia opima and patchwork trophies
 offered to the presiding ,goddess of   
spleen1 idleness1 and affectation6--    
,nothing can be conceived more          
unpropitious to #8the high endeavour and
 the glad success1' than the whole      
aspect and character of ancient ,rome1  
both what remains as well as what is    
lost of it4 ,is this the ,eternal ,city8
 ,is this she that 7amazon or votaress7 
was twice mistress of the world8 ,is    
this the country of the ,scipios1 the   
,cincinnati and the ,gracchi1 of ,cato  
and of ,brutus1 of ,pompey and of       
,sylla1 is this the ,capitol where      
,julius ,csar fell1 where ,cicero       
thundered against ,catiline1 the scene  
of combats and of triumphs1 and through 
whose gates kings and nations were led  
captive by the side of their conquerors'
 chariot-wheels8 ,all is vanished4 ,the 
names alone remain to haunt the memory3 
the spirits of the mighty dead mock us1 

as we pass4 ,the genius of ,antiquity   
bestrides the place like a ,colossus4   
,ruin here sits on her pedestal of      
pride1 and reads a mortifying lecture to
 human vanity4 ,we see all that ages1   
nations1 a subjected world conspired to 
build up to magnificence1 overthrown or 
hastening fast into decay2 empire1      
religion1 freedom1 ,gods and men        
trampled in the dust or consigned to the
 regions of lasting oblivion or of      
shadowy renown2 and what are we that in 
this mighty wreck we should think of    
cultivating our petty talents and       
advancing our individual pretensions8   
,rome is the very tomb of ancient       
greatness1 the grave of modern          
presumption4 ,the mere consciousness of 
the presence in which we stand ought to 
abash and overawe our pragmatical       
self-conceit4 ,men here seem no better  
than insects crawling about3 everything 
has a ,lilliputian and insignificant    
appearance4 ,our big projects1 our      
bloated egotism1 shrink up within the   

enormous shadow of transitory power and 
splendour3 the sinews of desire relax   
and moulder away1 and the fever of      
youthful ambition is turned into a cold 
ague-fit4 ,there is a languor in the    
air2 and the contagion of listless      
apathy infects the hopes that are yet   
unborn4--,as to what remains of actual  
power and spiritual authority1 ,hobbes  
said well1 that #8,popery was the ghost 
of the ,roman ,empire1 sitting upon the 
ruins of ,rome4' ,the only flourishing  
thing in ,rome 7and that is only half   
flourishing7 is an old woman2 and who   
would wish to be an old woman8          
,greatness here is greatness in         
masquerade--one knows not whether to    
pity or laugh at it--and the ,cardinals'
 red legs peeping out like the legs of  
some outlandish stuffed bird in a       
,museum1 excite much the same curiosity 
and surprise4 ,no one 7no ,englishman at
 least7 can be much edified by the array
 of distinctions1 that denote a         
consummation of art or weakness4 ,still1

 perhaps1 to the idle and frivolous     
there may be something alluring in this 
meretricious mummery and splendour1 as  
moths are attracted to the taper's      
blaze1 and perish in it6  ,there is a   
great deal of gossiping and stuff going 
on at ,rome4 ,there are ,conversationes1
 where the ,cardinals go and admire the 
fair complexions and innocent smiles of 
the young ,englishwomen2 and where the  
,english students who have the entre    
look at the former with astonishment as 
a sort of nondescripts1 and are not the 
less taken with their pretty            
countrywomen for being the objects of   
attention to ,popish ,cardinals4 ,then  
come the tittle-tattle of who and who's 
together1 the quaint and piquant        
inter-national gallantries1 and the     
story of the greatest beauty in ,rome   
said to be married to an ,english       
gentleman--how odd and at the same time 
how encouraging6 ,then the manners and  
customs of ,rome excite a buzz of       
curiosity1 and the ,english imagination 

is always recurring to and teazed with  
that luckless question of cicisbeism4   
,some affect to be candid1 while others 
persist in their original blindness1 and
 would set on foot a reform of the      
,roman metropolis--on the model of the  
,british one6 ,in short1 there is a     
great deal too much tampering and       
dalliance with subjects1 with which we  
have little acquaintance and less       
business4 ,all this passes the time1 and
 relieves the mind either after the     
fatigue or in the absence of more       
serious study4 ,then there is to be an  
,academy ,meeting at night1 and a debate
 is to take place whether the ,academy  
ought not to have a ,president1 and if  
so1 whether the ,president of the       
,academy at ,rome ought not 7out of     
respect7 to be a ,royal ,academician1   
thus extending the links in the chain of
 professional intrigue and cabal from   
one side of the ,continent to the other4
 ,a speech is accordingly to be made1 a 
motion seconded1 which requires time and

 preparation--or a sudden thought       
strikes the more raw and heedless       
adventurer1 but is lost for want of     
words to express it--,vox faucibus hsit1
 and the cast of the ,theseus looks dull
 and lumpish as the disappointed        
candidate for popular applause surveys  
it by the light of his lamp in retiring 
to his chamber1 ,sedet infelix ,theseus1
 c4 ,so the next day ,gibbon is bought  
and studied with great avidity to give  
him a command of tropes and figures at  
their next meeting4 ,the arrival of some
 new lord or squire of high degree or   
clerical virtuoso is announced1 and a   
cabal immediately commences1 who is to  
share his patronage1 who is to guide his
 taste1 who is to show him the lions1   
who is to pasquinade1 epigrammatise or  
caricature him1 and fix his pretensions 
to taste and liberality as culminating  
from the zenith or sunk below zero4     
,everything here is transparent and     
matter of instant notoriety3 nothing can
 be done in a corner4 ,the ,english are 

comparatively few in number1 and from   
their being in a foreign country are    
objects of importance to one another as 
well as of curiosity to the natives4    
,all ranks and classes are blended      
together for mutual attack or defence4  
,the patron sinks into the companion2   
the proteg plays off the great man upon 
occasion4 ,indeed the grand airs and    
haughty reserve of ,english manners are 
a little ridiculous and out of place at 
,rome4 ,you are glad to meet with any   
one who will bestow his compassion and  
#8his tediousness' upon you4 ,you want  
some shelter from the insolence and     
indifference of the inhabitants1 which  
are very much calculated to repel the   
feelings1 and throw you back on your    
resources in common humanity or the     
partiality of your fellow-countrymen4   
,nor is this the least inconvenience of 
a stranger's residence at ,rome4 ,you   
have to squabble with every one about   
you to prevent being cheated1 to drive a
 hard bargain in order to live1 to keep 

your hands and your tongue within strict
 bounds1 for fear of being stilettoed1  
or thrown into the ,tower of ,st4       
,angelo1 or remanded home4 ,you have    
much to do to avoid the contempt of the 
inhabitants2 if you fancy you can       
ingratiate yourself with them and play  
off the amiable1 you have a still more  
charming pursuit and bait for vanity and
 idleness4 ,you must run the gauntlet of
 sarcastic words or looks for a whole   
street1 of laughter or want of          
comprehension in reply to all the       
questions you ask2 or if a pretty       
black-browed girl puts on a gracious    
aspect1 and seems to interest herself in
 your perplexity1 you think yourself in 
high luck1 and well repaid for a        
thousand affronts4 ,a smile from a      
,roman beauty must be well nigh fatal to
 many an ,english student at ,rome4 ,in 
short1 while abroad1 and while our      
self-love is continually coming into    
collision with that of others1 and      
neither knows what to make of the other1

 we are necessarily thinking of         
ourselves and of them1 and in no        
pleasant or profitable way4 ,every thing
 is strange and new2 we seem beginning  
life over again1 and feel like children 
or rustics4 ,we have not learned the    
alphabet of civilization and humanity3  
how1 then1 should we aspire to the      
height of ,art8 ,we are taken up with   
ourselves as ,english travellers and    
,english students1 when we should be    
thinking of something else4 ,all the    
petty intrigue1 vexation1 and           
tracasserie of ordinary dealings1 should
 be banished as much as possible from   
the mind of the student1 who requires to
 have his whole time and faculties to   
himself2 all ordinary matters should go 
on mechanically of themselves1 without  
giving him a moment's uneasiness or     
interruption2 but here they are forced  
upon him with tenfold sharpness and     
frequency1 hurting his temper and       
hindering his time4 ,instead of         
#8tearing from his memory all trivial1  

fond records1' that he may devote       
himself to the service of ,art1 and that
 #8her commandment all alone may live   
within the book and volume of his brain1
 unmixed with baser matter1' he is never
 free from the most pitiful             
annoyances--they follow him into the    
country1 sit down with him at home1 meet
 him in the street1 take him by the     
button1 whisper in his ear1 prevent his 
sleeping1 waken him before the dawn1 and
 plague him out of his very life1 making
 it resemble a restless dream or an     
ill-written romance4 ,under such        
disadvantages1 should an artist do      
anything1 the ,academy which has sent   
him out should lose no time in sending  
for him back again2 for there is nothing
 that may not be expected from an       
,english student at ,rome who has not   
become an idler1 a petit-maitre1 and a  
busy-body6 ,or if he is still unwilling 
to quit classic ground1 is chained by   
the soft fetters of the climate or of a 
fair face1 or likes to see the morning  

mist rise from the ,marshes of the      
,campagna and circle round the ,dome of 
,st4 ,peter's1 and that to sever him    
from these would be to sever soul from  
body1 let him go to ,gensano1 stop there
 for five years1 visiting ,rome only at 
intervals1 wander by ,albano's gleaming 
lake and wizard grottoes1 make studies  
of the heads and dresses of the         
peasant-girls in the neighbourhood1     
those ,goddesses of health and          
good-temper1 embody them to the life1   
and show 7as the result7 what the world 
never saw before6                       
,,fine ,,arts   ,,objects ,,of ,,the    
,,article4--,in the ,encyclopdia there  
is some account1 under the head ,,arts1 
of the general theory and history of the
 ,fine ,arts1 including ,poetry1        
,eloquence1 ,painting1 ,statuary1 and   
,architecture4 ,the term1 in its widest 
application1 would also embrace ,music1 
,dancing1 ,theatrical ,exhibition2 and  
in general1 all those arts1 in which the
 powers of imitation or invention are   

exerted1 chiefly with a view to the     
production of pleasure1 by the immediate
 impression which they make on the mind4
 ,the phrase has of late1 we think1 been
 restricted to a narrower and more      
technical signification2 namely1 to     
,painting1 ,sculpture1 ,engraving1 and  
,architecture1 which appeal to the eye  
as the medium of pleasure2 and by way of
 eminence1 to the two first of these    
arts4 ,in the present article1 we shall 
adopt this limited sense of the term2   
and shall endeavour to develope the     
principles upon which the great ,masters
 have proceeded1 and also to inquire1 in
 a more particular manner1 into the     
state and probable advancement of these 
arts in this ,country4  ,,ruling        
,,principle ,,of ,,the ,,fine           
,,arts4--,the great works of art1 at    
present extant1 and which may be        
regarded as models of perfection in     
their several kinds1 are the ,greek     
statues--the pictures of the celebrated 
,italian ,masters--those of the ,dutch  

and ,flemish schools--to which we may   
add the comic productions of our own    
countryman1 ,hogarth4 ,these all stand  
unrivalled in the history of art2 and   
they owe their pre-eminence and         
perfection to one and the same          
principle1--the immediate imitation of  
nature4 ,this principle predominated    
equally in the classical forms of the   
antique1 and in the grotesque figures of
 ,hogarth2 the perfection of art in each
 arose from the truth and identity of   
the imitation with the reality2 the     
difference was in the subjects2 there   
was none in the mode of imitation4 ,yet 
the advocates for the ideal system of   
art would persuade their disciples1 that
 the difference between ,hogarth and the
 antique does not consist in the        
different forms of nature which they    
imitated1 but in this1 that the one is  
like1 and the other unlike nature4 ,this
 is an error1 the most detrimental1     
perhaps1 of all others1 both to the     
theory and practice of art4 ,as1        

however1 the prejudice is very strong   
and general1 and supported by the       
highest authority1 it will be necessary 
to go somewhat elaborately into the     
question in order to produce an         
impression on the other side4  ,what has
 given rise to the common notion of the 
ideal1 as something quite distinct from 
actual nature1 is probably the          
perfection of the ,greek statues4 ,not  
seeing among ourselves any thing to     
correspond in beauty and grandeur1      
either with the features or form of the 
limbs in these exquisite remains of     
antiquity1 it was an obvious1 but a     
superficial conclusion1 that they must  
have been created from the idea existing
 in the artist's mind1 and could not    
have been copied from anything existing 
in nature4 ,the contrary1 however1 is   
the fact4 ,the general form1 both of the
 face and figure1 which we observe in   
the old statues1 is not an ideal        
abstraction1 is not a fanciful invention
 of the sculptor1 but is as completely  

local and national 7though it happens to
 be more beautiful7 as the figures on a 
,chinese screen1 or a copperplate       
engraving of a negro chieftain in a book
 of travels4 ,it will not be denied that
 there is a difference of physiognomy as
 well as of complexion in different     
races of men4 ,the ,greek form appears  
to have been naturally beautiful1 and   
they had1 besides1 every advantage of   
climate1 of dress1 of exercise1 and     
modes of life to improve it4 ,the artist
 had also every facility afforded him in
 the study and knowledge of the human   
form1 and their religious and public    
institutions gave him every             
encouragement in the prosecution of his 
art4 ,all these causes contributed to   
the perfection of these noble           
productions2 but we should be inclined  
principally to attribute the superior   
symmetry of form common to the ,greek   
statues1 in the first place1 to the     
superior symmetry of the models in      
nature1 and in the second1 to the more  

constant opportunities for studying     
them4 ,if we allow1 also1 for the       
superior genius of the people1 we shall 
not be wrong2 but this superiority      
consisted in their peculiar             
susceptibility to the impressions of    
what is beautiful and grand in nature4  
,it may be thought an objection to what 
has just been said1 that the antique    
figures of animals1 c41 are as fine1 and
 proceed on the same principles as their
 statues of gods or men4 ,but all that  
follows from this seems to be1 that     
their art had been perfected in the     
study of the human form1 the test and   
proof of power and skill2 and was then  
transferred easily to the general       
imitation of all other objects1         
according to their true characters1     
proportions1 and appearances4 ,as a     
confirmation of these remarks1 the      
antique portraits of individuals were   
often superior even to the              
personifications of their gods4 ,we     
think that no unprejudiced spectator of 

real taste can hesitate for a moment in 
preferring the head of the ,antinous1   
for example1 to that of the ,apollo4    
,and in general1 it may be laid down as 
a rule1 that the most perfect of the    
antiques are the most simple2--those    
which affect the least action1 or       
violence of passion2--which repose the  
most on natural beauty of form1 and a   
certain expression of sweetness and     
dignity1 that is1 which remain most     
nearly in that state in which they could
 be copied from nature without straining
 the limbs or features of the           
individual1 or racking the invention of 
the artist4 ,this tendency of ,greek art
 to repose has indeed been reproached   
with insipidity by those who had not a  
true feeling of beauty and sentiment4   
,we1 however1 prefer these models of    
habitual grace or internal grandeur to  
the violent distortions of suffering in 
the ,laocoon1 or even to the            
supercilious air of the ,apollo4 ,the   
,niobe1 more than any other antique     

head1 combines truth and beauty with    
deep passion4 ,but here the passion is  
fixed1 intense1 habitual2--it is not a  
sudden or violent gesticulation1 but a  
settled mould of features2 the grief it 
expresses is such as might almost turn  
the human countenance itself into       
marble6  ,in general1 then1 we would be 
understood to maintain1 that the beauty 
and grandeur so much admired in the     
,greek statues were not a voluntary     
fiction of the brain of the artist1 but 
existed substantially in the forms from 
which they were copied1 and by which the
 artist was surrounded4 ,a striking     
authority in support of these           
observations1 which has in some measure 
been lately discovered1 is to be found  
in the ,elgin marbles1 taken from the   
,acropolis at ,athens1 and supposed to  
be the works of the celebrated ,phidias4
 ,the process of fastidious refinement  
and indefinite abstraction is certainly 
not visible there4 ,the figures have all
 the ease1 the simplicity1 and variety1 

of individual nature4 ,even the details 
of the subordinate parts1 the loose     
hanging folds in the skin1 the veins    
under the belly or on the sides of the  
horses1 more or less swelled as the     
animal is more or less in action1 are   
given with scrupulous exactness4 ,this  
is true nature and true art4 ,in a word1
 these invaluable remains of antiquity  
are precisely like casts taken from     
life4 ,the ideal is not the preference  
of that which exists only in the mind1  
to that which exists in nature2 but the 
preference of that which is fine in     
nature to that which is less so4 ,there 
is nothing fine in art but what is taken
 almost immediately1 and1 as it were1 in
 the mass1 from what is finer in nature4
 ,where there have been the finest      
models in nature1 there have been the   
finest works of art4  ,as the ,greek    
statues were copied from ,greek forms1  
so ,raphael's expressions were taken    
from ,italian faces2 and we have heard  
it remarked1 that the women in the      

streets at ,rome seem to have walked out
 of his pictures in the ,vatican4  ,sir 
,joshua ,reynolds constantly refers to  
,raphael as the highest example in      
modern times 7at least with one         
exception7 of the grand or ideal style2 
and yet he makes the essence of that    
style to consist in the embodying of an 
abstract or general idea1 formed in the 
mind of the artist by rejecting the     
peculiarities of individuals1 and       
retaining only what is common to the    
species4 ,nothing can be more           
inconsistent than the style of ,raphael 
with this definition4 ,in his ,cartoons 
and in his groupes in the ,vatican1     
there is hardly a face or figure which  
is any thing more than fine individual  
nature finely disposed and copied4 ,the 
late ,mr4 ,barry1 who could not be      
suspected of a prejudice on this side of
 the question1 speaks thus of them3 8,in
 ,raphael's pictures 7at the ,vatican7  
of the ,dispute of the ,sacrament1 and  
the ,school of ,athens1 one sees all the

 heads to be entirely copied from       
particular characters in nature1 nearly 
proper for the persons and situations   
which he adapts them to2 and he seems to
 me only to add and take away what may  
answer his purpose in little parts1     
features1 c42 conceiving1 while he had  
the head before him1 ideal characters   
and expressions1 which he adapts these  
features and peculiarities of face to4  
,this attention to the particulars which
 distinguish all the different faces1   
persons1 and characters1 the one from   
the other1 gives his pictures quite the 
verity and unaffected dignity of nature1
 which stamp the distinguishing         
differences betwixt one man's face and  
body and another's40  ,if any thing is  
wanting to the conclusiveness of this   
testimony1 it is only to look at the    
pictures themselves2 particularly the   
,miracle of the ,conversion1 and the    
,assembly of ,saints1 which are little  
else than a collection of divine        
portraits1 in natural and expressive    

attitudes1 full of the loftiest thought 
and feeling1 and as varied as they are  
fine4 ,it is this reliance on the power 
of nature which has produced those      
masterpieces by the prince of painters1 
in which expression is all in           
all2--where one spirit1--that of        
truth1--pervades every part1 brings down
 ,heaven to ,earth1 mingles ,cardinals  
and ,popes with ,angels and             
,apostles1--and yet blends and          
harmonizes the whole by the true touches
 and intense feeling of what is         
beautiful and grand in nature4 ,it is no
 wonder that ,sir ,joshua1 when he first
 saw ,raphael's pictures in the         
,vatican1 was at a loss to discover any 
great excellence in them1 if he was     
looking out for his theory of the       
ideal1--of neutral character and middle 
forms4  ,there is more an appearance of 
abstract grandeur of form in ,michael   
,angelo4 ,he has followed up1 has       
enforced1 and expanded1 as it were1 a   
preconceived idea1 till he sometimes    

seems to tread on the verge of          
caricature4 ,his forms1 however1 are not
 middle1 but extreme forms1 massy1      
gigantic1 supernatural4 ,they convey the
 idea of the greatest size and strength 
in the figure1 and in all the parts of  
the figure4 ,every muscle is swollen and
 turgid4 ,this tendency to exaggeration 
would have been avoided1 if ,michael    
,angelo had recurred more constantly to 
nature1 and had proceeded less on a     
scientific knowledge of the structure of
 the human body2 for science gives only 
the positive form of the different      
parts1 which the imagination may        
afterwards magnify1 as it pleases1 but  
it is nature alone which combines them  
with perfect truth and delicacy1 in all 
the varieties of motion and expression4 
,it is fortunate that we can refer1 in  
illustration of our doctrine1 to the    
admirable fragment of the ,theseus at   
,lord ,elgin's1 which shows the         
possibility of uniting the grand and    
natural style in the highest degree4    

,the form of the limbs1 as affected by  
pressure or action1 and the general sway
 of the body1 are preserved with the    
most consummate mastery4 ,we should     
prefer this statue as a model for       
forming the style of the student to the 
,apollo1 which strikes us as having     
something of a theatrical appearance1 or
 to the ,hercules1 in which there is an 
ostentatious and over-laboured display  
of anatomy4 ,this last figure is so     
overloaded with sinews1 that it has been
 suggested as a doubt1 whether1 if life 
could be put into it1 it would be able  
to move4 ,grandeur of conception1 truth 
of nature1 and purity of taste1 seem to 
have been at their height when the      
masterpieces which adorned the temple of
 ,minerva at ,athens1 of which we have  
only these imperfect fragments1 were    
produced4 ,compared with these1 the     
later ,greek statues display a more     
elaborate workmanship1 more of the      
artifices of style4 ,the several parts  
are more uniformly balanced1 made more  

to tally like modern periods3 each      
muscle is more equally brought out1 and 
more highly finished as a part1 but not 
with the same subordination of each part
 to the whole4 ,if some of these        
wonderful productions have a fault1 it  
is the want of that entire and naked    
simplicity which pervades the whole of  
the ,elgin marbles4  ,,works ,,of ,,the 
,,grecian ,,and ,,italian               
,,artists4--,having spoken here of the  
,greek statues1 and of the works of     
,raphael and ,michael ,angelo1 as far as
 relates to the imitation of nature1 we 
shall attempt to point out1 to the best 
of our ability1 and as concisely as     
possible1 what we conceive to be their  
general and characteristic excellences4 
,the ancients excelled in beauty of     
form2 ,michael ,angelo in grandeur of   
conception2 ,raphael in expression4 ,in 
,raphael's faces1 particularly his      
women1 the expression is very superior  
to the form2 in the ancient statues the 
form is the principal thing4 ,the       

interest which the latter excite1 is in 
a manner external2 it depends on a      
certain grace and lightness of          
appearance1 joined with exquisite       
symmetry and refined susceptibility to  
voluptuous emotions2 but there is in    
general a want of pathos4 ,in their     
looks1 we do not read the workings of   
the heart2 by their beauty they seem    
raised above the sufferings of humanity1
 by their beauty they are deified4 ,the 
pathos which they exhibit is rather that
 of present and physical distress1 than 
of deep internal sentiment4 ,what has   
been remarked of ,leonardo da ,vinci1 is
 also true of ,raphael1 that there is an
 angelic sweetness and tenderness in his
 faces1 in which human frailty and      
passion are purified by the sanctity of 
religion4 ,the ancient statues are finer
 objects for the eye to contemplate2    
they represent a more perfect race of   
physical beings1 but we have little     
sympathy with them4 ,in ,raphael1 all   
our natural sensibilities are heightened

 and refined by the sentiments of faith 
and hope1 pointing mysteriously to the  
interests of another world4 ,the same   
intensity of passion appears also to    
distinguish ,raphael from ,michael      
,angelo4 ,michael ,angelo's forms are   
grander1 but they are not so informed   
with expression4 ,raphael's1 however    
ordinary in themselves1 are full of     
expression1 #8even to o'erflowing2'     
every nerve and muscle is impregnated   
with feeling1--bursting with meaning4   
,in ,michael ,angelo1 on the contrary1  
the powers of body and mind appear      
superior to any events that can happen  
to them2 the capacity of thought and    
feeling is never full1 never strained or
 tasked to the extremity of what it will
 bear4 ,all is in a lofty repose and    
solitary grandeur1 which no human       
interest can shake or disturb4 ,it has  
been said that ,michael ,angelo painted 
man1 and ,raphael men2 that the one was 
an epic1 the other a dramatic painter4  
,but the distinction we have stated is1 

perhaps1 truer and more intelligible1   
viz4 that the one gave greater dignity  
of form1 and the other greater force and
 refinement of expression4 ,michael     
,angelo1 in fact1 borrowed his style    
from sculpture4 ,he represented1 in     
general1 only single figures 7with      
subordinate accompaniments71 and had not
 to express the conflicting actions and 
passions of a multitude of persons4 ,it 
is therefore a mere truism to say that  
his compositions are not dramatic4 ,he  
is much more picturesque than ,raphael4 
,the whole figure of his ,jeremiah      
droops and hangs down like a majestic   
tree surcharged with showers4 ,his      
drawing of the human form has the       
characteristic freedom and boldness of  
,titian's landscapes4  ,after ,michael  
,angelo and ,raphael1 there is no doubt 
that ,leonardo da ,vinci1 and           
,correggio1 are the two painters1 in    
modern times1 who have carried          
historical expression to the highest    
ideal perfection2 and yet it is equally 

certain that their heads are carefully  
copied from faces and expressions in    
nature4 ,leonardo excelled principally  
in his women and children4 ,we find1 in 
his female heads1 a peculiar charm of   
expression2 a character of natural      
sweetness and tender playfulness1 mixed 
up with the pride of conscious          
intellect1 and the graceful reserve of  
personal dignity4 ,he blends purity with
 voluptuousness2 and the expression of  
his women is equally characteristic of  
#8the mistress or the saint4' ,his      
pictures are worked up to the height of 
the idea he had conceived1 with an      
elaborate1 felicity2 but this idea was  
evidently first suggested1 and          
afterwards religiously compared with    
nature4 ,this was his excellence4 ,his  
fault is1 that his style of execution is
 too mathematical2 that is1 his pencil  
does not follow the graceful variety of 
the details of objects1 but substitutes 
certain refined gradations1 both of form
 and colour1 producing equal changes in 

equal distances1 with a mechanical      
uniformity4 ,leonardo was a man of      
profound learning as well as genius1 and
 perhaps transferred too much of the    
formality of science to his favourite   
art4  ,the masterpieces of ,correggio   
have the same identity with nature1 the 
same stamp of truth4 ,he has indeed     
given to his pictures the utmost        
softness and refinement of outline and  
expression2 but this idea1 at which he  
constantly aimed1 is filled up with all 
the details and varieties which such    
heads would have in nature4 ,so far from
 any thing like a naked abstract idea1  
or middle form1 the individuality of his
 faces has something peculiar in it1    
even approaching the grotesque4 ,he has 
endeavoured to impress habitually on the
 countenance1 those undulating outlines 
which rapture or tenderness leave there1
 and has chosen for this purpose those  
forms and proportions which most        
obviously assisted his design4  ,as to  
the colouring of ,correggio1 it is      

nature itself4 ,not only the general    
tone is perfectly true1 but every speck 
and particle is varied in colour1 in    
relief1 in texture1 with a care1 a      
felicity1 and an effect1 which is almost
 magical4 ,his light and shade are      
equally admirable4 ,no one else1        
perhaps1 ever gave the same harmony and 
roundness to his compositions4 ,so true 
are his shadows1--equally free from     
coldness1 opacity1 or false glare2--so  
clear1 so broken1 so airy1 and yet so   
deep1 that if you hold your hand so as  
to cast a shadow on any part of the     
flesh which is in the light1 this part1 
so shaded1 will present exactly the same
 appearance which the painter has given 
to the shadowed part of the picture4    
,correggio1 indeed1 possessed a greater 
variety of excellences in the different 
departments of his art1 than any other  
painter2 and yet it is remarkable1 that 
the impression which his pictures leave 
upon the mind of the common spectator1  
is monotonous and comparatively feeble4 

,his style is in some degree mannered   
and confined4 ,for instance1 he is      
without the force1 passion1 and grandeur
 of ,raphael1 who1 however1 possessed   
his softness of expression1 but of      
expression only2 and in colour1 in light
 and shade1 and other qualities1 was    
quite inferior to ,correggio4 ,we may1  
perhaps1 solve this apparent            
contradiction by saying1 that he applied
 the power of his mind to a greater     
variety of objects than others2 but that
 this power was still of the same       
character2 consisting in a certain      
exquisite sense of the harmonious1 the  
soft and graceful in form1 colour1 and  
sentiment1 but with a deficiency of     
strength1 and a tendency to effeminacy  
in all these4  ,after the names of      
,raphael and ,correggio1 we shall       
mention that of ,guido1 whose female    
faces are exceedingly beautiful and     
ideal1 but altogether commonplace and   
vapid1 compared with those of ,raphael  
or ,correggio2 and they are so1 for no  

other reason but that the general idea  
they convey is not enriched and         
strengthened by an intense contemplation
 of nature4 ,for the same reason1 we can
 conceive nothing more unlike the       
antique than the figures of ,nicholas   
,poussin1 except as to the preservation 
of the costume2 and it is perhaps       
chiefly owing to the habit of studying  
his art at second-hand1 or by means of  
scientific rules1 that the great merits 
of that able painter1 whose             
understanding and genius are            
unquestionable1 are confined to his     
choice of subjects for his pictures1 and
 his manner of telling the story4 ,his  
landscapes1 which he probably took from 
nature1 are superior as paintings to his
 historical pieces4 ,the faces of       
,poussin want natural expression1 as his
 figures want grace2 but the back       
grounds of his historical compositions  
can scarcely be surpassed4 ,in his      
plague of ,athens1 the very buildings   
seem stiff with horror4 ,his giants1    

seated on the top of their fabled       
mountains1 and playing on their ,pan's  
pipes1 are as familiar and natural as if
 they were the ordinary inhabitants of  
the scene4 ,the finest of his landscapes
 is his picture of the ,deluge4 ,the sun
 is just seen1 wan and drooping in his  
course4 ,the sky is bowed down with a   
weight of waters1 and ,heaven and earth 
seem mingling together4  ,titian is at  
the head of the ,venetian school4 ,he is
 the first of all colourists4 ,in       
delicacy and purity ,correggio is equal 
to him1 but his colouring has not the   
same warmth and gusto in it4 ,titian's  
flesh-colour partakes of the glowing    
nature of the climate1 and of the       
luxuriousness of the manners of his     
country4 ,he represents objects not     
through a merely lucid medium1 but as if
 tinged with a golden light4 ,yet it is 
wonderful in how low a tone of local    
colouring his pictures are painted1--how
 rigidly his means are husbanded4 ,his  
most gorgeous effects are produced1 not 

less by keeping down1 than by           
heightening his colours2 the fineness of
 his gradations adds to their variety   
and force2 and1 with him1 truth is the  
same thing as splendour4 ,every thing is
 done by the severity of his eye1 by the
 patience of his touch4 ,he is enabled  
to keep pace with nature1 by never      
hurrying on before her2 and as he forms 
the broadest masses out of innumerable  
varying parts and minute strokes of the 
pencil1 so he unites and harmonises the 
strongest contrasts by the most         
imperceptible transitions4 ,every       
distinction is relieved and broken by   
some other intermediate distinction1    
like half notes in music2 and yet all   
this accumulation of endless variety is 
so managed1 as only to produce the      
majestic simplicity of nature2 so that  
to a common eye there is nothing        
extraordinary in his pictures1 any more 
than in nature itself4 ,it is1 we       
believe1 owing to what has been here    
stated1 that ,titian is1 of all         

painters1 at once the easiest and the   
most difficult to copy4 ,he is the most 
difficult to copy perfectly1 for the    
artifice of his colouring and execution 
is hid in its apparent simplicity2 and  
yet the knowledge of nature1 and the    
arrangement of the forms and masses in  
his pictures1 is so masterly1 that any  
copy made from them1 even the rudest    
outline or sketch1 can hardly fail to   
have a look of high art4 ,because he was
 the greatest colourist in the world1   
this1 which was his most prominent1 has1
 for shortness1 been considered as his  
only excellence2 and he has been said to
 have been ignorant of drawing4 ,what he
 was1 generally speaking1 deficient in1 
was invention or composition1 though    
even this appears to have been more from
 habit than want of power2 but his      
drawing of actual forms1 where they were
 not to be put into momentary action1 or
 adapted to a particular expression1 was
 as fine as possible4 ,his drawing of   
the forms of inanimate objects is       

unrivalled4 ,his trees have a marked    
character and physiognomy of their own1 
and exhibit an appearance of strength or
 flexibility1 solidity or lightness1 as 
if they were endued with conscious power
 and purpose4 ,character was another    
excellence which ,titian possessed in   
the highest degree4 ,it is scarcely     
speaking too highly of his portraits to 
say1 that they have as much expression1 
that is1 convey as fine an idea of      
intellect and feeling1 as the historical
 heads of ,raphael4 ,the chief          
difference appears to be1 that the      
expression in ,raphael is more imaginary
 and contemplative1 and in ,titian more 
personal and constitutional4 ,the heads 
of the one seem thinking more of some   
event or subject1 those of the other to 
be thinking more of themselves4 ,in the 
portraits of ,titian1 as might be       
expected1 the ,italian character always 
predominates2 there is a look of        
piercing sagacity1 of commanding        
intellect1 of acute sensibility1 which  

it would be in vain to seek for in any  
other portraits4 ,the daring spirit and 
irritable passions of the age and       
country1 are distinctly stamped upon    
their countenances1 and can be as little
 mistaken as the costume which they     
wear4 ,the portraits of ,raphael1 though
 full of profound thought and feeling1  
have more of common humanity about them4
 ,titian's portraits are the most       
historical that ever were painted2 and  
they are so1 for this reason1 that they 
have most consistency of form and       
expression4 ,his portraits of ,hippolito
 de ,medici1 and of a young ,neapolitan 
nobleman1 lately in the gallery of the  
,louvre1 are a striking contrast in this
 respect4 ,all the lines of the face in 
the one1 the eye-brows1 the nose1 the   
corners of the mouth1 the contour of the
 face1 present the same sharp angles1   
the same acute1 edgy1 contracted1       
violent expression4 ,the other portrait 
has the finest expansion of feature and 
outline1 and conveys the most exquisite 

idea possible1 of mild1 thoughtful      
sentiment4 ,the consistency of the      
expression constitutes as great a charm 
in ,titian's portraits1 as the harmony  
of the colouring4 ,the similarity       
sometimes objected to his heads1 is     
partly national1 and partly arises from 
the class of persons whom he painted4   
,he painted only ,italians2 and in his  
time it rarely happened1 that any but   
persons of the highest rank1 ,senators  
or ,cardinals1 sat for their pictures4  
,the similarity of costume of the dress1
 the beard1 c4 also adds to the         
similarity of their appearance4 ,it     
adds1 at the same time1 to their        
picturesque effect2 and the alteration  
in this respect1 is one circumstance    
among others that has been injurious1   
not to say fatal1 to modern art4 ,this  
observation is not confined to portrait2
 for the hired dresses with which our   
historical painters clothe their figures
 sit no more easily on the imagination  
of the artist1 than they do gracefully  

on the lay-figures over which they are  
thrown4  ,giorgioni1 ,paul ,veronese1   
,tintoret1 and the ,bassans1 are the    
remaining great names of the ,venetian  
school4 ,the excellence of all of them  
consisted in the bold1 masterly1 and    
striking imitation of nature4 ,their    
want of ideal form and elevated         
character is1 indeed1 a constant subject
 of reproach against them4 ,giorgioni   
takes the first place among them2 for he
 was in some measure the master of      
,titian1 whereas the others were only   
his disciples4 ,the ,carraccis1         
,domenichino1 and the rest of the       
,bolognese school1 formed themselves on 
a principle of combining the excellences
 of the ,roman and ,venetian painters1  
in which they for a while succeeded to a
 considerable degree2 but they          
degenerated and dwindled away into      
absolute insignificance1 in proportion  
as they departed from nature1 or the    
great masters who had copied her1 to    
mould their works on academic rules1 and

 the phantoms of abstract perfection4   
,,flemish ,,and ,,dutch                 
,,painters4--,rubens is the prince of   
the ,flemish painters4 ,of all the great
 painters1 he is perhaps the most       
artificial1--the one who painted most   
from his own imagination1--and1 what was
 almost the inevitable consequence1 the 
most of a mannerist4 ,he had neither the
 ,greek forms to study from1 nor the    
,roman expression1 nor the high         
character1 picturesque costume1 and     
sun-burnt hues which the ,venetian      
painters had immediately before them4   
,he took1 however1 what circumstances   
presented to him1--a fresher and more   
blooming tone of complexion1 arising    
from moister air1 and a colder climate4 
,to this he added the congenial         
splendour of reflected lights and       
shadows cast from rich drapery2 and he  
made what amends he could for the want  
of expression1 by the richness of his   
compositions1 and the fantastic variety 
of his allegorical groups4 ,both his    

colouring and his drawing were1 however1
 ideal exaggerations4 ,but both had     
particular qualities of the highest     
value4 ,he has given to his flesh       
greater transparency and freshness than 
any other painter2 and this excellence  
he had from nature4 ,one of the finest  
instances will be found in his ,peasant 
,family going to ,market1 in which the  
figures have all the bloom of health    
upon their countenances2 and the very   
air of the surrounding landscape strikes
 sharp and wholesome on the sense4      
,rubens had another excellence2 he has  
given all that relates to the expression
 of motion in his allegorical figures1  
in his children1 his animals1 even in   
his trees1 to a degree which no one else
 has equalled1 or indeed approached4    
,his drawing is often deficient in      
proportion1 in knowledge1 and in        
elegance1 but it is always picturesque4 
,the drawing of ,n4 ,poussin1 on the    
contrary1 which has been much cried up1 
is merely learned and anatomical3 he has

 a knowledge of the structure and       
measurements of the human body1 but very
 little feeling of the grand1 or        
beautiful1 or striking1 in form4 ,all   
,rubens's forms have ease1 freedom1 and 
excessive elasticity4 ,in the grotesque 
style of history1--as in the groups of  
satyrs1 nymphs1 bacchanals1 and animals1
 where striking contrasts of form are   
combined with every kind of rapid and   
irregular movement1 he has not a rival4 
,witness his ,silenus at ,blenheim1     
where the lines seem drunk and          
staggering2 and his procession of       
,cupids riding on animals at ,whitehall1
 with that adventurous leader of the    
infantine crew1 who1 with a spear1 is   
urging a lion1 on which he is mounted1  
over the edge of the world2 for beyond  
we only see a precipice of clouds and   
sky4 ,rubens's power of expressing      
motion perhaps arose from the facility  
of his pencil1 and his habitually       
trusting a good deal to memory and      
imagination in his compositions2 for    

this quality can be given in no other   
way4 ,his portraits are the least       
valuable productions of his pencil4 ,his
 landscapes are often delightful1 and   
appear like the work of fairy hands4    
,it remains to speak of ,vandyke and    
,rembrandt1 the one the disciple of     
,rubens1 the other the entire founder of
 his own school4 ,it is not possible for
 two painters to be more opposite4 ,the 
characteristic merits of the former are 
very happily summed up in a single line 
of a poetical critic1 where he speaks of
                 #8,the soft precision  
of the clear ,vandyke4'  ,the general   
object of this analysis of the works of 
the great masters1 has been to show1    
that their pre-eminence has constantly  
depended1 not on the creation of a      
fantastic1 abstract excellence1 existing
 nowhere but in their own minds1 but in 
their selecting and embodying some one  
view of nature1 which came immediately  
under their habitual observation1 and   
which their particular genius led them  

to study and imitate with success4 ,this
 is certainly the case with ,vandyke4   
,his portraits1 mostly of ,english      
women1 in the collection in the ,louvre1
 have a cool refreshing air about them1 
a look of simplicity and modesty even in
 the very tone1 which forms a fine      
contrast to the voluptuous glow and     
mellow golden lustre of ,titian's       
,italian women4 ,there is a quality of  
flesh-colour in ,vandyke which is to be 
found in no other painter1 and which    
exactly conveys the idea of the soft1   
smooth1 sliding1 continuous1 delicately 
varied surface of the skin4 ,the objects
 in his pictures have the least possible
 difference of light and shade1 and are 
presented to the eye without passing    
through any indirect medium4 ,it is this
 extreme purity and silvery clearness of
 tone1 together with the facility and   
precision of his particular forms1 and a
 certain air of fashionable elegance1   
characteristic of the age in which he   
flourished1 that places ,vandyke in the 

first rank of portrait painters4  ,if   
ever there was a man of genius in the   
art1 it was ,rembrandt4 ,he might be    
said to have created a medium of his    
own1 through which he saw all objects4  
,he was the grossest and the least      
vulgar1 that is to say1 the least       
common-place in his grossness1 of all   
men4 ,he was the most downright1 the    
least fastidious of the imitators of    
nature4 ,he took any object1 he cared   
not what1 how mean soever in form1      
colour1 and expression1 and from the    
light and shade which he threw upon it1 
it came out gorgeous from his hands4 ,as
 ,vandyke made use of the smallest      
contrasts of light and shade1 and       
painted as if in the open air1          
,rembrandt used the most violent and    
abrupt contrasts in this respect1 and   
painted his objects as if in a dungeon4 
,his pictures may be said to be #8bright
 with excessive darkness4' ,his vision  
had acquired a lynx-eyed sharpness from 
the artificial obscurity to which he had

 accustomed himself4 #8,mystery and     
silence hung upon his pencil4' ,yet he  
could pass rapidly from one extreme to  
another1 and dip his colours with equal 
success in the gloom of night1 or in the
 blaze of the noon-day sun4 ,in         
surrounding different objects with a    
medium of imagination1 solemn or        
dazzling1 he was a true poet2 in all the
 rest1 he was a mere painter1 but a     
painter of no common stamp4 ,the powers 
of his hand were equal to those of his  
eye2 and indeed he could not have       
attempted the subjects he did1 without  
an execution as masterly as his         
knowledge was profound4 ,his colours are
 sometimes dropped in lumps on the      
canvas2 at other times they are laid on 
as smooth as glass2 and he not          
unfrequently painted with the handle of 
his brush4 ,he had an eye for all       
objects as far as he had seen them4 ,his
 history and landscapes are equally fine
 in their way4 ,his landscapes we could 
look at for ever1 though there is       

nothing in them4 ,but #8they are of the 
earth1 earthy4' ,it seems as if he had  
dug them out of nature4 ,every thing is 
so true1 so real1 so full of all the    
feelings and associations which the eye 
can suggest to the other senses1 that we
 immediately take as strong an affection
 to them as if they were our home--the  
very place where we were brought up4 ,no
 length of time could add to the        
intensity of the impression they convey4
 ,rembrandt is the least classical and  
the most romantic of all painters4 ,his 
,jacob's ,ladder is more like a dream   
than any other picture that ever was    
painted4 ,the figure of ,jacob himself  
is thrown in one corner of the picture  
like a bundle of clothes1 while the     
angels hover above the darkness1 in the 
shape of airy wings4  ,it would be      
needless to prove that the generality of
 the ,dutch painters copied from actual 
objects4 ,they have become almost a     
bye-word for carrying this principle    
into its abuse1 by copying every thing  

they saw1 and having no choice or       
preference of one thing to another1     
unless that they preferred that which   
was most obvious and common4 ,we forgive
 them4 ,they perhaps did better in      
faithfully and skilfully imitating what 
they had seen1 than in imagining what   
they had not seen4 ,their pictures at   
least show1 that there is nothing in    
nature1 however mean or trivial1 that   
has not its beauty and some interest    
belonging to it1 if truly represented4  
,we prefer ,vangoyen's views on the     
borders of a canal1 the yellow-tufted   
bank1 and passing sail1 or ,ruysdael's  
woods and sparkling waterfalls1 to the  
most classical or epic compositions     
which they could have invented out of   
nothing2 and we think that ,teniers's   
boors1 old women1 and children1 are very
 superior to the little carved ivory    
,venuses in the pictures of ,vanderneer2
 just as we think ,hogarth's ,marriage  
la ,mode is better than his ,sigismunda1
 or as ,mr4 ,wilkie's ,card-,players is 

better than his ,alfred4 ,we should not 
assuredly prefer a ,dutch ,fair by      
,teniers to a ,cartoon by ,raphael2 but 
we suspect we should prefer a ,dutch    
,fair by ,teniers to a ,cartoon by the  
same master2 or we should prefer truth  
and nature in the simplest dress1 to    
affectation and inanity in the most     
pompous disguise4 ,whatever is genuine  
in art must proceed from the impulse of 
nature and individual genius4  ,,french 
,,and ,,spanish ,,painters4--,in the    
,french school there are but two names  
of high and established reputation1 ,n4 
,poussin and ,claude ,lorraine4 ,of the 
former we have already spoken2 of the   
latter we shall give our opinion when we
 come to speak of our own ,wilson4 ,we  
ought not to pass over the names of     
,murillo and ,velasquez1 those admirable
 ,spanish painters4 ,it is difficult to 
characterize their peculiar excellences 
as distinct from those of the ,italian  
and ,dutch schools4 ,they may be said to
 hold a middle rank between the painters

 of mind and body4 ,they express not so 
much thought and sentiment1 nor yet the 
mere exterior1 as the life and spirit of
 the man4 ,murillo is probably at the   
head of that class of painters who have 
treated subjects of common life4 ,after 
making the colours on the canvass feel  
and think1 the next best thing is to    
make them breathe and live4 ,but there  
is in ,murillo's pictures of this kind a
 look of real life1 a cordial flow of   
native animal spirits1 which we find    
nowhere else4 ,we might here refer      
particularly to his picture of the ,two 
,spanish ,beggar ,boys1 in the          
collection at ,dulwich ,college1 which  
cannot easily be forgotten by those who 
have ever seen it4  ,,progress ,,of     
,,art ,,in ,,britain4--,we come now to  
speak of the progress of art in our own 
,country1--of its present state1--and   
the means proposed for advancing it to  
still higher perfection4                
,,hogarth4--,we shall speak first of    
,hogarth1 both as he is the first name  

in the order of time that we have to    
boast of1 and as he is the greatest     
comic painter of any age or country4    
,his pictures are not imitations of     
still life1 or mere transcripts of      
incidental scenes or customs2 but       
powerful moral satires1 exposing vice   
and folly in their most ludicrous points
 of view1 and with a profound insight   
into the weak sides of character and    
manners1 in all their tendencies1       
combinations1 and contrasts4 ,there is  
not a single picture of his1 containing 
a representation of merely natural or   
domestic scenery4 ,his object is not so 
much #8to hold the mirror up to nature1'
 as #8to show vice her own feature1     
scorn her own image4' ,folly is there   
seen at the height--the moon is at the  
full--it is the very error of the time4 
,there is a perpetual collision of      
eccentricities1 a tilt and tournament of
 absurdities1 pampered into all sorts of
 affectation1 airy1 extravagant1 and    
ostentatious6 ,yet he is as little a    

caricaturist as he is a painter of still
 life4 ,criticism has not done him      
justice1 though public opinion has4 ,his
 works have received a sanction which it
 would be vain to dispute1 in the       
universal delight and admiration with   
which they have been regarded1 from     
their first appearance1 to the present  
moment4 ,if the quantity of amusement1  
or of matter for reflection which they  
have afforded1 is that by which we are  
to judge of precedence among the        
intellectual benefactors of mankind1    
there are perhaps few persons who can   
put in a stronger claim to our gratitude
 than ,hogarth4 ,the wonderful knowledge
 which he possessed of human life and   
manners1 is only to be surpassed 7if it 
can be7 by the powers of invention with 
which he has arranged his materials1 and
 by the mastery of execution with which 
he has embodied and made tangible the   
very thoughts and passing movements of  
the mind4 ,some persons object to the   
style of ,hogarth's pictures1 or the    

class to which they belong4 ,first1     
,hogarth belongs to no class1 or1 if he 
belongs to any1 it is to the same class 
as ,fielding1 ,smollett1 ,vanbrugh1 and 
,molire4 ,besides1 the merit of his     
pictures does not depend on the nature  
of his subjects1 but on the knowledge   
displayed of them1 on the number of     
ideas1 on the fund of observation and   
amusement contained in them4 ,make what 
deductions you please for the vulgarity 
of the subjects--yet in the research1   
the profundity1 the absolute truth and  
precision of the delineation of         
character1--in the invention of         
incident1 in wit and humour1 in life and
 motion1 in everlasting variety and     
originality1--they never have1 and      
probably never will be1 surpassed4 ,they
 stimulate the faculties1 as well as    
amuse them4 #8,other pictures we see1   
,hogarth's we read4'#ed  ,there is one  
error which has been frequently         
entertained on this subject1 and which  
we wish to correct1 namely1 that        

,hogarth's genius was confined to the   
imitation of the coarse humours and     
broad farce of the lowest life4 ,but he 
excelled quite as much in exhibiting the
 vices1 the folly1 and frivolity of the 
fashionable manners of his time4 ,his   
fine ladies do not yield the palm of    
ridicule to his waiting-maids1 and his  
lords and his porters are on a very     
respectable footing of equality4 ,he is 
quite at home1 either in ,st4 ,giles's  
or ,st4 ,james's4 ,there is no want1 for
 example1 in his ,marriage  la ,mode1 or
 his ,taste in ,high ,life1 of          
affectation verging into idiotcy1 or of 
languid sensibility that might          
#8,die of a rose in aromatic pain4'     
,many of ,hogarth's characters would    
form admirable illustrations of ,pope's 
,satires1 who was contemporary with him4
 ,in short1 ,hogarth was a painter of   
real1 not of low life4 ,he was1 as we   
have said1 a satirist1 and consequently 
his pencil did not dwell on the grand   
and beautiful1 but it glanced1 with     

equal success at the absurdities and    
peculiarities of high or low life1 #8of 
the great vulgar and the small4'  ,to   
this it must be added1 that he was as   
great a master of passion as of humour4 
,he succeeded in low tragedy1 as much as
 in low or genteel comedy1 and had an   
absolute power in moving the affections 
and rending the hearts of the           
spectators1 by depicting the effects of 
the most dreadful calamities of human   
life1 on common minds and common        
countenances4 ,of this1 the ,rake's     
,progress1 particularly the ,bedlam     
scene1 and many others1 are unanswerable
 proofs4 ,hogarth's merits1 as a mere   
artist1 are not confined to his prints4 
,in general1 indeed1 this is the case4  
,but when he chose to take pains1 he    
could add the delicacies of execution   
and colouring in the highest degree to  
those of character and composition2 as  
is evident in his series of pictures1   
all equally well painted1 of the        
,marriage  la ,mode1 exhibited lately at

 the ,british ,institution4             
,,wilson4--,we shall next speak of      
,wilson1 whose pictures may be divided  
into three classes3--his ,italian       
landscapes1 or imitations of the manner 
of ,claude1--his copies of ,english     
scenery1--and his historical            
compositions4 ,the first of these are1  
in our opinion1 by much the best2 and we
 appeal1 in support of this opinion1 to 
the ,apollo and the ,seasons1 and to the
 ,phaeton4 ,the figures are of course   
out of the question 7these being as     
uncouth and slovenly as ,claude's are   
insipid and finical72 but the landscape1
 in both pictures1 is delightful4 ,in   
looking at them1 we breathe the air     
which the scene inspires1 and feel the  
genius of the place present to us4 ,in  
the first1 there is the cool freshness  
of a misty spring morning2 the sky1 the 
water1 the dim horizon1 all convey the  
same feeling4 ,the fine grey tone1 and  
varying outline of the hills2 the       
graceful form of the retiring lake1     

broken still more by the hazy shadows of
 the objects that repose on its bosom2  
the light trees that expand their       
branches in the air2 and the dark stone 
figure and mouldering temple1 that      
contrast strongly with the broad clear  
light of the rising day1--give a charm1 
a truth1 a force and harmony to this    
composition1 which produce the greater  
pleasure the longer it is dwelt on4 ,the
 distribution of light and shade        
resembles the effect of light on a      
globe4 ,the ,phaeton has the dazzling   
fervid appearance of an autumnal        
evening2 the golden radiance streams in 
solid masses from behind the flickering 
clouds2 every object is baked in the    
sun2--the brown fore-ground1 the thick  
foliage of the trees1 the streams1      
shrunk and stealing along behind the    
dark high banks1--combine to produce    
that richness1 and characteristic unity 
of effect1 which is to be found only in 
nature1 or in art derived from the study
 and imitation of nature4 ,these two    

pictures1 as they have the greatest     
general effect1 are also more carefully 
finished than any other pictures we have
 seen of his4  ,in general1 ,wilson's   
views of ,english scenery want almost   
every thing that ought to recommend     
them4 ,the subjects he has chosen are   
not well fitted for the                 
landscape-painter1 and there is nothing 
in the execution to redeem them4        
,ill-shaped mountains1 or great heaps of
 earth1 trees that grow against them    
without character or elegance1          
motionless waterfalls1 a want of relief1
 of transparency and distance1 without  
the imposing grandeur of real magnitude 
7which it is scarcely within the        
province of art to give71--are the chief
 features and defects of this class of  
his pictures4 ,in more confined scenes1 
the effect must depend almost entirely  
on the difference in the execution and  
the details2 for the difference of      
colour alone is not sufficient to give  
relief to objects placed at a small     

distance from the eye4 ,but1 in ,wilson1
 there are commonly no details1--all is 
loose and general2 and this very        
circumstance1 which might assist him in 
giving the massy contrasts of light and 
shade1 deprived his pencil of all force 
and precision within a limited space4   
,in general1 air is necessary to the    
landscape painter2 and1 for this reason1
 the lakes of ,cumberland and           
,westmoreland afford few subjects for   
landscape-painting4 ,however stupendous 
the scenery of that country is1 and     
however powerful and lasting the        
impression which it must always make on 
the imagination1 yet the effect is not  
produced merely through the medium of   
the eye1 but arises chiefly from        
collateral and associated feelings4     
,there is the knowledge of the physical 
magnitude of the objects in the midst of
 which we are placed1--the slow1        
improgressive motion which we make in   
traversing them2--there is the abrupt   
precipice1 the torrent's roar1 the      

boundless expanse of the prospect from  
the highest mountains1--the difficulty  
of their ascent1 their loneliness and   
silence2 in short1 there is a constant  
sense and superstitious awe of the      
collective power of matter1 of the      
gigantic and eternal forms of nature1 on
 which1 from the beginning of time1 the 
hand of man has made no impression1 and 
which1 by the lofty reflections they    
excite in us1 give a sort of            
intellectual sublimity even to our sense
 of physical weakness4 ,but there is    
little in all these circumstances that  
can be translated into the picturesque1 
which makes its appeal immediately to   
the eye4  ,wilson's historical          
landscapes1 his ,niobe1 ,celadon and    
,amelia1 c4 do not1 in our estimation1  
display either true taste or fine       
imagination1 but are affected and       
violent exaggerations of clumsy common  
nature4 ,they are made up mechanically  
of the same stock of materials1--an     
over-hanging rock1 bare shattered trees1

 black rolling clouds1 and forked       
lightning4 ,the figures1 in the most    
celebrated of these1 are not like the   
children of ,niobe1 punished by the     
,gods1 but like a group of rustics1     
crouching from a hail-storm4 ,we agree  
with ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 that       
,wilson's mind was not1 like ,n4        
,poussin's1 sufficiently imbued with the
 knowledge of antiquity to transport the
 imagination three thousand years back1 
to give natural objects a sympathy with 
preternatural events1 and to inform     
rocks1 and trees1 and mountains with the
 presence of a ,god4 ,to sum up his     
general character1 we may observe1 that1
 besides his excellence in arial        
perspective1 ,wilson had great truth1   
harmony1 and depth of local colouring4  
,he had a fine feeling of the           
proportions and conduct of light and    
shade1 and also an eye for graceful     
form1 as far as regards the bold and    
varying outlines of indefinite objects2 
as may be seen in his foregrounds1 c41  

where the artist is not tied down to an 
imitation of characteristic and         
articulate forms4 ,in his figures1      
trees1 cattle1 and in everything having 
a determinate and regular form1 his     
pencil was not only deficient in        
accuracy of outline1 but even in        
perspective and actual relief4 ,his     
trees1 in particular1 frequently seem   
pasted on the canvass1 like botanical   
specimens4 ,in fine1 we cannot subscribe
 to the opinion of those who assert1    
that ,wilson was superior to ,claude as 
a man of genius2 nor can we discern any 
other grounds for this opinion1 than    
what would lead to the general          
conclusion1--that the more slovenly the 
performance the finer the picture1 and  
that that which is imperfect is superior
 to that which is perfect4 ,it might be 
said1 on the same principle1 that the   
coarsest sign-painting is better than   
the reflection of a landscape in a      
mirror2 and the objection that is       
sometimes made to the mere imitation of 

nature1 cannot be made to the landscapes
 of ,claude1 for in them the ,graces    
themselves have1 with their own hands1  
assisted in selecting and disposing     
every object4 ,is the general effect in 
his pictures injured by the details8 ,is
 the truth inconsistent with the beauty 
of the imitation8 ,does the perpetual   
profusion of objects and scenery1 all   
perfect in themselves1 interfere with   
the simple grandeur and comprehensive   
magnificence of the whole8 ,does the    
precision with which a plant is marked  
in the fore-ground1 take away from the  
air-drawn distinctions of the blue      
glimmering horizon8 ,is there any want  
of that endless airy space1 where the   
eye wanders at liberty under the open   
sky1 explores distant objects1 and      
returns back as from a delightful       
journey8 ,there is no comparison between
 ,claude and ,wilson4 ,sir ,joshua      
,reynolds used to say1 that there would 
be another ,raphael before there would  
be another ,claude4 ,his landscapes have

 all that is exquisite and refined in   
art and nature4 ,every thing is moulded 
into grace and harmony2 and1 at the     
touch of his pencil1 shepherds with     
their flocks1 temples and groves1 and   
winding glades1 and scattered hamlets1  
rise up in never-ending succession1     
under the azure sky and the resplendent 
sun1 while                              
#8,universal ,pan1              ,knit   
with the ,graces1 and the hours in      
dance1              ,leads on the       
eternal spring4----'  ,michael ,angelo  
has left1 in one of his sonnets1 a fine 
apostrophe to the earliest poet of      
,italy3                 #8,fain would   
,i1 to be what our ,dante was1          
,forego the happiest fortunes of        
mankind4'  ,what landscape-painter does 
not feel this of ,claude4#ee            
,,gainsborough4--,we have heard an      
anecdote connected with the reputation  
of ,gainsborough's pictures1 which rests
 on pretty good authority4 ,sir ,joshua 
,reynolds1 at one of the ,academy       

dinners1 speaking of ,gainsborough1 said
 to a friend1--#8,he is undoubtedly the 
best ,english landscape-painter4'       
#8,no1' said ,wilson1 who overheard the 
conversation1 #8he is not the best      
landscape-painter1 but he is the best   
portrait-painter in ,england4' ,they    
were both wrong2 but the story is       
creditable to the versatility of        
,gainsborough's talents4  ,those of his 
portraits which we have seen are not in 
the first rank4 ,they are in a good     
measure imitations of ,vandyke2 and have
 more an air of gentility1 than of      
nature4 ,his landscapes are of two      
classes or periods2 his early and his   
later pictures4 ,the former are minute  
imitations of nature1 or of painters who
 imitated nature1 such as ,ruysdael1 c4 
some of which have great truth and      
clearness4 ,his later pictures are      
flimsy caricatures of ,rubens1 who      
himself carried inattention to the      
details to the utmost limit that it     
would bear4 ,many of ,gainsborough's    

latter landscapes may be compared to bad
 water-colour drawings1 washed in by    
mechanical movements of the hand1       
without any communication with the eye4 
,the truth seems to be1 that            
,gainsborough found there was something 
wanting in his early manner1 that is1   
something beyond the literal imitation  
of the details of natural objects2 and  
he appears to have concluded rather     
hastily1 that the way to arrive at that 
something more1 was to discard truth and
 nature altogether4 ,his fame rests     
principally1 at present1 on his         
fancy-pieces1 cottage-children1         
shepherd-boys1 c4 ,these have often     
great truth1 great sweetness1 and the   
subjects are often chosen with great    
felicity4 ,we too often find1 however1  
even in his happiest efforts1 a         
consciousness in the turn of the limbs1 
and a pensive languor in the expression1
 which is not taken from nature4 ,we    
think the gloss of art is never so ill  
bestowed as on such subjects1 the       

essence of which is simplicity4 ,it is  
perhaps the general fault of            
,gainsborough1 that he presents us with 
an ideal common life1 of which we have  
had a surfeit in poetry and romance4    
,his subjects are softened1 and         
sentimentalised too much2 it is not     
simple unaffected nature that we see1   
but nature sitting for her picture4 ,our
 artist1 we suspect1 led the way to that
 masquerade style1 which piques itself  
on giving the air of an ,adonis to the  
driver of a hay-cart1 and models the    
features of a milk-maid on the          
principles of the antique4 ,his         
,woodman's ,head is admirable4 ,nor can 
too much praise be given to his         
,shepherd ,boy in a ,storm2 in which the
 unconscious simplicity of the boy's    
expression1 looking up with his hands   
folded and with timid wonder1--the noisy
 chattering of a magpie perched         
above1--and the rustling of the coming  
storm in the branches of the trees1     
produce a most delightful and romantic  

impression on the mind4  ,gainsborough  
was to be considered1 perhaps1 rather as
 a man of delicate taste1 and of an     
elegant and feeling mind1 than as a man 
of genius2 as a lover of the art1 rather
 than an artist4 ,he devoted himself to 
it1 with a view to amuse and soothe his 
mind1 with the ease of a gentleman1 not 
with the severity of a professional     
student4 ,he wished to make his         
pictures1 like himself1 amiable2 but a  
too constant desire to please almost    
unavoidably leads to affectation and    
effeminacy4 ,he wanted that vigour of   
intellect1 which perceives the beauty of
 truth2 and thought that painting was to
 be gained1 like other mistresses1 by   
flattery and smiles4 ,it was an error   
which we are disposed to forgive in one1
 around whose memory1 both as an artist 
and a man1 many fond recollections1 many
 vain regrets1 must always linger4#ef   
,,sir ,,joshua ,,reynolds4--,the        
authority of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1    
both from his example and instructions1 

has had1 and still continues to have1 a 
considerable influence on the state of  
art in this country4 ,that influence has
 been on the whole unquestionably       
beneficial in itself1 as well as highly 
creditable to the rare talents and      
elegant mind of ,sir ,joshua2 for it has
 raised the art of painting from the    
lowest state of degradation1--of dry1   
meagre1 lifeless inanity1 to something  
at least respectable1 and bearing an    
affinity to the rough strength and bold 
spirit of the national character4       
,whether the same implicit deference to 
his authority1 which has helped to      
advance the art thus far1 may not1 among
 other causes1 limit and retard its     
future progress8 ,whether there are not 
certain original errors1 both in his    
principles and practice1 which1 the     
farther they are proceeded in1 the      
farther they will lead us from the      
truth8 ,whether there is not a          
systematic bias from the right line by  
which alone we can arrive at the goal of

 the highest perfection8--are questions 
well worth considering4  ,we shall begin
 with ,sir ,joshua's merits as an       
artist4 ,there is one error which we    
wish to correct at setting out1 because 
we think it important4 ,there is not a  
greater or more unaccountable mistake   
than the supposition that ,sir ,joshua  
,reynolds owed his success or excellence
 in his profession1 to his having been  
the first who introduced into this      
country more general principles of the  
art1 and who raised portrait to the     
dignity of history from the low drudgery
 of copying the peculiarities1          
meannesses1 and details of individual   
nature1 which was all that had been     
attempted by his immediate predecessors4
 ,this is so far from being true1 that  
the very reverse is the fact4 ,if ,sir  
,joshua did not give these details and  
peculiarities so much as might be       
wished1 those who went before him did   
not give them at all4 ,those pretended  
general principles of the art1 which1 it

 is said1 #8alone give value and dignity
 to it1' had been pushed to their       
extremest absurdity before his time2 and
 it was in getting rid of the mechanical
 systematic monotony and middle forms1  
by the help of which ,lely1 ,kneller1   
,hudson1 the ,french painters1 and      
others1 carried on their manufactories  
of history and face painting1 and in    
returning 7as far as he did return7 to  
the truth and force of individual       
nature1 that the secret both of his fame
 and fortune lay4 ,the pedantic1 servile
 race of artists1 whom ,reynolds        
superseded1 had carried the abstract    
principle of improving on nature to such
 a degree of refinement1 that they left 
it out altogether2 and confounded all   
the varieties and irregularities of     
form1 feature1 character1 expression or 
attitude1 in the same artificial mould  
of fancied grace and fashionable        
insipidity4 ,the portraits of ,kneller1 
for example1 seem all to have been      
turned in a machine2 the eye-brows are  

arched as if by a compass2 the mouth    
curled1 and the chin dimpled1 the head  
turned on one side1 and the hands placed
 in the same affected position4 ,the    
portraits of this mannerist1 therefore1 
are as like one another as the dresses  
which were then in fashion2 and have the
 same #8dignity and value' as the full  
bottomed wigs which graced their        
originals4 ,the superiority of ,reynolds
 consisted in his being varied and      
natural1 instead of being artificial and
 uniform4 ,the spirit1 grace1 or dignity
 which he added to his portraits1 he    
borrowed from nature1 and not from the  
ambiguous quackery of rules4 ,his       
feeling of truth and nature was too     
strong to permit him to adopt the       
unmeaning style of ,kneller and ,hudson2
 but his logical acuteness was not such 
as to enable him to detect the verbal   
fallacies and speculative absurdities   
which he had learned from ,richardson   
and ,coypel2 and1 from some defects in  
his own practice1 he was led to confound

 negligence with grandeur4 ,but of this 
hereafter4  ,sir ,joseph ,reynolds owed 
his vast superiority over his           
contemporaries to incessant practice1   
and habitual attention to nature1 to    
quick organic sensibility1 to           
considerable power of observation1 and  
still greater taste in perceiving and   
availing himself of those excellences of
 others1 which lay within his own walk  
of art4 ,we can by no means look upon   
,sir ,joshua as having a claim to the   
first rank of genius4 ,he would hardly  
have been a great painter1 if other     
greater painters had not lived before   
him4 ,he would not have given a first   
impulse to the art1 nor did he advance  
any part of it beyond the point where he
 found it4 ,he did not present any new  
view of nature1 nor is he to be placed  
in the same class with those who did4   
,even in colour1 his pallet was spread  
for him by the old ,masters1 and his eye
 imbibed its full perception of depth   
and harmony of tone1 from the ,dutch and

 ,venetian schools1 rather than from    
nature4 ,his early pictures are poor and
 flimsy4 ,he indeed learned to see the  
finer qualities of nature through the   
works of art1 which he1 perhaps1 might  
never have discovered in nature itself4 
,he became rich by the accumulation of  
borrowed wealth1 and his genius was the 
offspring of taste4 ,he combined and    
applied the materials of others to his  
own purpose1 with admirable success2 he 
was an industrious compiler1 or skilful 
translator1 not an original inventor in 
art4 ,the art would remain1 in all its  
essential elements1 just where it is1 if
 ,sir ,joshua had never lived4 ,he has  
supplied the industry of future         
plagiarists with no new materials4 ,but 
it has been well observed1 that the     
value of every work of art1 as well as  
the genius of the artist1 depends1 not  
more on the degree of excellence1 than  
on the degree of originality displayed  
in it4 ,sir ,joshua1 however1 was       
perhaps the most original imitator that 

ever appeared in the world2 and the     
reason of this1 in a great measure1 was1
 that he was compelled to combine what  
he saw in art1 with what he saw in      
nature1 which was constantly before him4
 ,the portrait-painter is1 in this      
respect1 much less liable than the      
historical painter1 to deviate into the 
extremes of manner and affectation2 for 
he cannot discard nature altogether1    
under the excuse that she only puts him 
out4 ,he must meet her1 face to face2   
and if he is not incorrigible1 he will  
see something there that cannot fail to 
be of service to him4 ,another          
circumstance which must have been       
favourable to ,sir ,joshua was1 that    
though not the originator in point of   
time1 he was the first ,englishman who  
transplanted the higher excellences of  
his profession into his own country1 and
 had the merit1 if not of an inventor1  
of a reformer of the art4 ,his mode of  
painting had the graces of novelty in   
the age and country in which he lived2  

and he had1 therefore1 all the stimulus 
to exertion1 which arose from the       
enthusiastic applause of his            
contemporaries1 and from a desire to    
expand and refine the taste of the      
public4  ,to an eye for colour and for  
effects of light and shade1 ,sir ,joshua
 united a strong perception of          
individual character1--a lively feeling 
of the quaint and grotesque in          
expression1 and great mastery of        
execution4 ,he had comparatively little 
knowledge of drawing1 either as it      
regarded proportion or form4 ,the beauty
 of some of his female faces and figures
 arises almost entirely from their      
softness and fleshiness4 ,his pencil    
wanted firmness and precision4 ,the     
expression1 even of his best portraits1 
seldom implies either lofty or          
impassioned intellect or delicate       
sensibility4 ,he also wanted grace1 if  
grace requires simplicity4 ,the mere    
negation of stiffness and formality is  
not grace2 for looseness and distortion 

are not grace4 ,his favourite attitudes 
are not easy and natural1 but the       
affectation of ease and nature4 ,they   
are violent deviations from a right     
line4 ,many of the figures in his       
fancy-pieces are placed in postures in  
which they could not remain for an      
instant without extreme difficulty and  
awkwardness4 ,we might instance the     
,girl drawing with a ,pencil1 and some  
others4 ,his portraits are his best     
pictures1 and of these his portraits of 
men are the best2 his pictures of       
children are the next in value4 ,he had 
fine subjects for the former1 from the  
masculine sense and originality of      
character of many of the persons whom he
 painted2 and he had also a great       
advantage 7as far as practice went7 in  
painting a number of persons of every   
rank and description4 ,some of the      
finest and most interesting are those of
 ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,goldsmith 7which is1   
however1 too much a mere sketch71       
,baretti1 ,dr4 ,burney1 ,john ,hunter1  

and the inimitable portrait of ,bishop  
,newton4 ,the elegant simplicity of     
character1 expression1 and drawing1     
preserved throughout the last picture1  
even to the attitude and mode of        
handling1 discover the true genius of a 
painter4 ,we also remember to have seen 
a print of ,thomas ,warton1 than which  
nothing could be more characteristic or 
more natural4 ,these were all           
,reynolds's intimate acquaintances1 and 
it could not be said of them that they  
were men of #8no mark or likelihood4'   
,their traits had probably sunk deep    
into the artist's mind2 he painted them 
as pure studies from nature1 copying the
 real image existing before him1 with   
all its known characteristic            
peculiarities2 and1 with as much wisdom 
as good-nature1 sacrificing the graces  
on the altar of friendship4 ,they are   
downright portraits1 and nothing more1  
and they are valuable in proportion4 ,in
 his portraits of women1 on the contrary
 7with very few exceptions71 ,sir       

,joshua appears to have consulted either
 the vanity of his employers or his own 
fanciful theory4 ,they have not the look
 of individual nature1 nor have they1 to
 compensate the want of this1 either    
peculiar elegance of form1 refinement of
 expression1 delicacy of complexion1 or 
gracefulness of manner4 ,vandyke's      
attitudes have been complained of as    
stiff and confined4 ,reynolds1 to avoid 
this defect1 has fallen into the        
contrary extreme of negligence and      
contortion4 ,his female figures which   
aim at gentility1 are twisted into that 
serpentine line1 the idea of which he   
ridiculed so much in ,hogarth4 ,indeed1 
,sir ,joshua1 in his ,discourses 7see   
his account of ,correggio71 speaks of   
grace as if it were nearly allied to    
affectation4 ,grace signifies that which
 is pleasing and natural in the posture 
and motions of the human form1 as       
,beauty is more properly applied to the 
form itself4 ,that which is stiff1      
inanimate1 and without motion1 cannot1  

therefore1 be graceful2 but1 to suppose 
that a figure1 to be graceful1 need only
 be put into some languishing or        
extravagant posture1 is to mistake      
flutter and affectation for ease and    
elegance4  ,sir ,joshua's children1 as  
we have said above1 are among his chef  
d'uvres4 ,the faces of children have in 
general that want of precision of       
outline1 that prominence of relief1 and 
strong contrast of colour1 which were   
peculiarly adapted to his style of      
painting4 ,the arch simplicity of       
expression1 and the grotesque character 
which he has given to the heads of his  
children1 were1 however1 borrowed from  
,correggio4 ,his ,puck is the most      
masterly of all these2 and the          
colouring1 execution1 and character1    
alike exquisite4 ,the single figure of  
the ,infant ,hercules is also admirable4
 ,many of those to which his friends    
have suggested historical titles are    
mere common portraits or casual studies4
 ,thus the ,infant ,samuel is an        

innocent little child saying its prayers
 at the bed's feet3 it has nothing to do
 with the story of the ,hebrew prophet4 
,the same objection will apply to many  
of his fancy-pieces and historical      
compositions4 ,there is often no        
connection between the picture and the  
subject but the name4 ,even his         
celebrated ,iphigenia 7beautiful as she 
is1 and prodigal of her charms7 does not
 answer to the idea of the story4 ,in   
drawing the naked figure1 ,sir ,joshua's
 want of truth and firmness of outline1 
became more apparent2 and his mode of   
laying on his colours1 which1 in the    
face and extremities1 was relieved and  
broken by the abrupt inequalities of    
surface and variety of tints in each    
part1 produced a degree of heaviness and
 opacity in the larger masses of        
flesh-colour1 which can indeed only be  
avoided by extreme delicacy1 or extreme 
lightness of execution4  ,shall we speak
 the truth at once8 ,in our opinion1    
,sir ,joshua did not possess either that

 high imagination1 or those strong      
feelings1 without which no painter can  
become a poet in his art4 ,his larger   
historical compositions have been       
generally allowed to be most liable to  
objection1 in a critical point of view4 
,we shall not attempt to judge them by  
scientific or technical rules1 but make 
one or two observations on the character
 and feeling displayed in them4 ,the    
highest subject which ,sir ,joshua has  
attempted was the ,count ,ugolino1 and  
it was1 as might be expected from the   
circumstances1 a total failure4 ,he had1
 it seems1 painted a study of an old    
beggar-man's head2 and some person1 who 
must have known as little of painting as
 of poetry1 persuaded the unsuspecting  
artist1 that it was the exact expression
 of ,dante's ,count ,ugolino1 one of the
 most grand1 terrific1 and appalling    
characters in modern fiction4 ,reynolds1
 who knew nothing of the matter but what
 he was told1 took his good fortune for 
granted1 and only extended his canvass  

to admit the rest of the figures4 ,the  
attitude and expression of ,count       
,ugolino himself1 are what the artist   
intended them to be1 till they were     
pampered into something else by the     
officious vanity of friends--those of a 
common mendicant at the corner of a     
street1 waiting patiently for some      
charitable donation4 ,the imagination of
 the painter took refuge in a parish    
work-house1 instead of ascending the    
steps of the ,tower of ,famine4 ,the    
hero of ,dante is a lofty1 high-minded1 
and unprincipled ,italian nobleman1 who 
had betrayed his country to the enemy1  
and who1 as a punishment for his crime1 
is shut up with his four sons in the    
dungeon of the citadel1 where he shortly
 finds the doors barred against him1 and
 food withheld4 ,he in vain watches with
 eager feverish eye the opening of the  
door at the accustomed hour1 and his    
looks turn to stone2 his children one by
 one drop down dead at his feet2 he is  
seized with blindness1 and1 in the agony

 of his despair1 he gropes on his knees 
after them1                             
----#8,calling each by name             
,for three days after they were dead4'  
,even in the other world1 he is         
represented with the same fierce1       
dauntless1 unrelenting character1       
#8gnawing the skull of his adversary1   
his fell repast4' ,the subject of the   
,laocoon is scarcely equal to that      
described by ,dante4 ,the horror there  
is physical and momentary2 in the other1
 the imagination fills up the long1     
obscure1 dreary void of despair1 and    
joins its unutterable pangs to the loud 
cries of nature4 ,what is there in the  
picture to convey the ghastly horrors of
 the scene1 or the mighty energy of soul
 with which they are borne8#eg ,his     
picture of ,macbeth is full of wild and 
grotesque images2 and the apparatus of  
the witches contains a very elaborate   
and well arranged inventory of dreadful 
objects4 ,his ,cardinal ,beaufort is a  
fine display of rich mellow colouring2  

and there is something gentlemanly and  
,shakespearian in the ,king and the     
attendant ,nobleman4 ,at the same time1 
we think the expression of the ,cardinal
 himself is too much one of physical    
horror1 a canine gnashing of the teeth1 
like a man strangled4 ,this is not the  
best style of history4 ,mrs4 ,siddons as
 the ,tragic ,muse1 is neither the      
tragic muse nor ,mrs4 ,siddons2 and we  
have still stronger objections to       
,garrick between ,tragedy and ,comedy4  
,there is a striking similarity between 
,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's theory and his 
practice2 and as each of these has been 
appealed to in support of the other1 it 
is necessary that we should examine     
both4 ,sir ,joshua's practice was       
generally confined to the illustration  
of that part of his theory1 which       
relates to the more immediate imitation 
of nature1 and it is to what he says on 
this subject1 that we shall chiefly     
direct our observations at present4  ,he
 lays it down as a general and          

invariable rule1 that #8the great style 
in art1 and the most ,,perfect          
,,imitation ,,of ,,nature1 consists in  
avoiding the details and peculiarities  
of particular objects4' ,this sweeping  
principle he applies almost             
indiscriminately to ,portrait1 ,history1
 and ,landscape2 and he appears to have 
been led to the conclusion itself1 from 
supposing the imitation of particulars  
to be inconsistent with general truth   
and effect4 ,it appears to us1 that the 
highest perfection of the art depends1  
not on separating but on uniting general
 truth and effect with individual       
distinctness and accuracy4  ,first1 it  
is said1 that the great style in        
painting1 as it relates to the immediate
 imitation of external nature1 consists 
in avoiding the details of particular   
objects4 ,it consists neither in giving 
nor avoiding them1 but in something     
quite different from both4 ,any one may 
avoid the details4 ,so far1 there is no 
difference between the ,cartoons1 and a 

common sign-painting4 ,greatness        
consists in giving the larger masses and
 proportions with truth2--this does not 
prevent giving the smaller ones too4    
,the utmost grandeur of outline1 and the
 broadest masses of light and shade1 are
 perfectly compatible with the utmost   
minuteness and delicacy of detail1 as   
may be seen in nature4 ,it is not1      
indeed1 common to see both qualities    
combined in the imitations of nature1   
any more than the combination of other  
excellences2 nor are we here saying to  
which the principal attention of the    
artist should be directed2 but we deny1 
that1 considered in themselves1 the     
absence of the one quality is necessary 
or sufficient to the production of the  
other4  ,if1 for example1 the form of   
the eye-brow is correctly given1 it will
 be perfectly indifferent to the truth  
or grandeur of the design1 whether it   
consists of one broad mark1 or is       
composed of a number of hair-lines1     
arranged in the same order4 ,so1 if the 

lights and shades are disposed in fine  
and large masses1 the breadth of the    
picture1 as it is called1 cannot        
possibly be affected by the filling up  
of those masses with the details1 that  
is1 with the subordinate distinctions   
which appear in nature4 ,the anatomical 
details in ,michael ,angelo1 the        
ever-varying outline of ,raphael1 the   
perfect execution of the ,greek statues1
 do not destroy their symmetry or       
dignity of form2 and1 in the finest     
specimens of the composition of colour1 
we may observe the largest masses       
combined with the greatest variety in   
the parts of which those masses are     
composed4  ,the gross style consists in 
giving no details2 the finical in giving
 nothing else4 ,nature contains both    
large and small parts1 both masses and  
details2 and the same may be said of the
 most perfect works of art4 ,the union  
of both kinds of excellence1 of strength
 with delicacy1 as far as the limits of 
human capacity1 and the shortness of    

human life would permit1 is that which  
has established the reputation of the   
most successful imitators of nature4    
,farther1 their most finished works are 
their best4 ,the predominance1 indeed1  
of either excellence in the best        
,masters1 has varied according to their 
opinion of the relative value of these  
qualities1--the labour they had the time
 or the patience to bestow on their     
works1--the skill of the artist1--or the
 nature and extent of his subject4 ,but1
 if the rule here objected to 7that the 
careful imitation of the parts injures  
the effect of the whole71 be once       
admitted1 slovenliness would become     
another name for genius1 and the most   
unfinished performance be the best4     
,that such has been the confused        
impression left on the mind by the      
perusal of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's     
,discourses1 is evident from the        
practice1 as well as conversation1 of   
many 7even eminent7 artists4 ,the late  
,mr4 ,opie proceeded entirely on this   

principle4 ,he left many admirable      
studies of portraits1 particularly in   
what relates to the disposition and     
effect of light and shade2 but he never 
finished any of the parts1 thinking them
 beneath the attention of a great       
artist4 ,he went over the whole head the
 second day as he had done the first1   
and therefore made no progress4 ,the    
picture at last1 having neither the     
lightness of a sketch1 nor the accuracy 
of a finished work1 looked coarse1      
laboured1 and heavy4 ,titian is the most
 perfect example of high finishing4 ,in 
him the details are engrafted on the    
most profound knowledge of effect1 and  
attention to the character of what he   
represented4 ,his pictures have the     
exact look of nature1 the very tone and 
texture of flesh4 ,the variety of his   
tints is blended into the greatest      
simplicity4 ,there is a proper degree   
both of solidity and transparency4 ,all 
the parts hang together2 every stroke   
tells1 and adds to the effect of the    

rest4 ,sir ,joshua seems to deny that   
,titian finished much2 and says that he 
produced1 by two or three strokes of his
 pencil1 effects which the most         
laborious copyist would in vain attempt 
to equal4 ,it is true1 he availed       
himself in some degree of what is called
 execution1 to facilitate his imitation 
of the details and peculiarities of     
nature2 but it was to facilitate1 not to
 supersede it4 ,there can be nothing    
more distinct than execution and        
daubing4 ,titian1 however1 made a very  
moderate1 though a very admirable1 use  
of this power2 and those who copy his   
pictures will find that the simplicity  
is in the results1 not in the details4  
,to conclude our observations on this   
head1 we will only add1 that1 while the 
artist thinks there is any thing to be  
done1 either to the whole or to the     
parts of his picture1 which can give it 
still more the look of nature1 if he is 
willing to proceed1 we would not advise 
him to desist4 ,this rule is the more   

necessary to the young student1 for he  
will relax in his attention as he grows 
older4 ,and again1 with respect to the  
subordinate parts of a picture1 there is
 no danger that he will bestow a        
disproportionate degree of labour upon  
them1 because he will not feel the same 
interest in copying them1 and because a 
much less degree of accuracy will serve 
every purpose of deception4  ,secondly1 
with regard to the imitation of         
expression1 we can hardly agree with    
,sir ,joshua1 that #8the perfection of  
portrait-painting consists in giving the
 general idea or character without the  
individual peculiarities4' ,no doubt1 if
 we were to choose between the general  
character1 and the peculiarities of     
feature1 we ought to prefer the former4 
,but1 they are so far from being        
incompatible with1 that they are not    
without some difficulty distinguishable 
from1 each other4 ,there is a general   
look of the face1 a predominant         
expression arising from the             

correspondence and connection of the    
different parts1 which it is of the     
first and last importance to give2 and  
without which1 no elaboration of        
detached parts1 or marking of the       
peculiarities of single features1 is    
worth any thing2 but which1 at the same 
time1 is not destroyed1 but assisted by 
the careful finishing1 and still more by
 giving the exact outline of each part4 
,it is on this point that the modern    
,french and ,english schools differ1 and
 7in our opinion7 are both wrong4 ,the  
,english seem generally to suppose1 that
 if they only leave out the subordinate 
parts1 they are sure of the general     
result4 ,the ,french1 on the contrary1  
as erroneously imagine1 that1 by        
attending successively to each separate 
part1 they must infallibly arrive at a  
correct whole2 not considering that1    
besides the parts1 there is their       
relation to each other1 and the general 
expression stamped upon them by the     
character of the individual1 which to be

 seen must be felt2 for it is           
demonstrable1 that all character and    
expression1 to be adequately            
represented1 must be perceived by the   
mind1 and not by the eye only4 ,the     
,french painters give only lines and    
precise differences2 the ,english only  
general masses1 and strong effects4     
,hence the two nations reproach one     
another with the difference of their    
styles of art1--the one as dry1 hard1   
and minute1--the other as gross1 gothic1
 and unfinished2 and they will probably 
remain for ever satisfied with each     
other's defects1 as they afford a very  
tolerable fund of consolation on either 
side4  ,much has been said of historical
 portrait2 and we have no objection to  
this phrase1 if properly understood4    
,the giving historical truth to a       
portrait1 means1 then1 the representing 
the individual under one consistent1    
probable1 and striking view2 or showing 
the different features1 muscles1 c4 in  
one action1 and modified by one         

principle4 ,a portrait thus painted may 
be said to be historical2 that is1 it   
carries internal evidence of truth and  
propriety with it2 and the number of    
individual peculiarities1 as long as    
they are true to nature1 cannot lessen1 
but must add to the strength of the     
general impression4  ,it might be shown 
7if there were room in this place7 that 
,sir ,joshua has constructed his theory 
of the ideal in art1 upon the same      
mistaken principle of the negation or   
abstraction of particular nature4 ,the  
ideal is not a negative but a positive  
thing4 ,the leaving out the details or  
peculiarities of an individual face does
 not make it one jot more ideal4 ,to    
paint history1 is to paint nature as    
answering to a general1 predominant1 or 
preconceived idea in the mind1 of       
strength1 beauty1 action1 passion1      
thought1 c42 but the way to do this is  
not to leave out the details1 but to    
incorporate the general idea with the   
details2--that is1 to show the same     

expression actuating and modifying every
 movement of the muscles1 and the same  
character preserved consistently through
 every part of the body4 ,grandeur does 
not consist in omitting the parts1 but  
in connecting all the parts into a      
whole1 and in giving their combined and 
varied action3 abstract truth or ideal  
perfection does not consist in rejecting
 the peculiarities of form1 but in      
rejecting all those which are not       
consistent with the character intended  
to be given2 and in following up the    
same general idea of softness1          
voluptuousness1 strength1 activity1 or  
any combination of these through every  
ramification of the frame4 ,but these   
modifications of form or expression can 
only be learnt from nature1 and         
therefore the perfection of art must    
always be sought in nature4 ,the ideal  
properly applies as much to the idea of 
ugliness1 weakness1 folly1 meanness1    
vice1 as of beauty1 strength1 wisdom1   
magnanimity1 or virtue4 ,the antique    

heads of fauns and satyrs1 of ,pan or   
,silenus1 are quite as ideal as those of
 the ,apollo or ,bacchus2 and ,hogarth  
adhered to an idea of humour in his     
faces1 as ,raphael did to an idea of    
sentiment4 ,but ,raphael found the      
character of sentiment in nature as much
 as ,hogarth did that of humour2        
otherwise neither of them would have    
given one or the other with such perfect
 truth1 purity1 force1 and keeping4 ,sir
 ,joshua ,reynolds's ideal1 as          
consisting in a mere negation of        
individuality1 bears just the same      
relation to real beauty or grandeur as  
caricature does to true comic           
character4#eh                    99     
99       99       99       99  ,,present
 ,,state ,,of ,,british ,,art4--,it is  
owing either to a mistaken theory of    
elevated art1 or to the want of models  
in nature1 that the ,english are        
hitherto without any painter of serious 
historical subjects1 who can be placed  
in the first rank of genius4 ,many of   

the pictures of modern artists have     
shown a capacity for correct and happy  
delineation of actual objects and       
domestic incidents1 only inferior to the
 masterpieces of the ,dutch ,school4 ,we
 might here mention the names of        
,wilkie1 ,collins1 ,heaphy1 and many    
others4 ,we have portrait-painters1 who 
have attained to a very high degree of  
excellence in all the branches of their 
art4 ,in landscape1 ,turner has shown a 
knowledge of the effects of air1 and of 
powerful relief in objects1 which was   
never surpassed4 ,but in the highest    
walk of art--in giving the movements of 
the finer or loftier passions of the    
mind1 this country has not produced a   
single painter1 who has made even a     
faint approach to the excellence of the 
great ,italian painters4 ,we have1      
indeed1 a good number of specimens of   
the clay-figure1 the anatomical         
mechanism1 the regular proportions      
measured by a two-foot rule2--large     
canvasses1 covered with stiff figures1  

arranged in deliberate order1 with the  
characters and story correctly expressed
 by uplifted eyes or hands1 according to
 old receipt-books for the              
passions2--and with all the hardness and
 inflexibility of figures carved in     
wood1 and painted over in good strong   
body colours1 that look #8as if some of 
nature's journeymen had made them1 and  
not made them well4' ,but we still want 
a ,prometheus to give life to the       
cumbrous mass1 to throw an intellectual 
light over the opaque image1--to embody 
the inmost refinements of thought to the
 outward eye1--to lay bare the very soul
 of passion4 ,that picture is of little 
comparative value which can be          
completely translated into another      
language1--of which the description in a
 common catalogue conveys all that is   
expressed by the picture itself2 for it 
is the excellence of every art to give  
what can be given by no other1 in the   
same degree4 ,much less is that picture 
to be esteemed1 which only injures and  

defaces the idea already existing in the
 mind's eye1--which does not come up to 
the conception which the imagination    
forms of the subject1 and substitutes a 
dull reality for high sentiment2 for the
 art is in this case an incumbrance1 not
 an assistance1 and interferes with1    
instead of adding to1 the stock of our  
pleasurable sensations4 ,but we should  
be at a loss to point out 7we will not  
say any ,english picture1 but certainly7
 any ,english painter1 who1 in heroic   
and classical composition1 has risen to 
the height of his subject1 and answered 
the expectation of the well-informed    
spectator1 or excited the same          
impression by visible means1 as had been
 excited by words1 or by reflection4#ei 
,that this inferiority in ,english art  
is not owing to a deficiency of genius1 
imagination1 or passion1 is proved      
sufficiently by the works of our poets  
and dramatic writers1 which1 in         
loftiness and force1 are not surpassed  
by those of any other nation4 ,but      

whatever may be the depth of internal   
thought and feeling in the ,english     
character1 it seems to be more internal2
 and 7whether this is owing to habit1 or
 physical constitution7 to have1        
comparatively1 a less immediate and     
powerful communication with the organic 
expression of passion1--which exhibits  
the thoughts and feelings in the        
countenance1 and furnishes matter for   
the historic muse of painting4 ,the     
,english artist is instantly sensible   
that the flutter1 grimace1 and          
extravagance of the ,french physiognomy1
 are incompatible with high history2 and
 we are at no loss to explain in this   
way1 that is1 from the defect of living 
models1 how it is that the productions  
of the ,french school are marked with   
all the affectation of national         
caricature1 or sink into tame and       
lifeless imitations of the antique4 ,may
 we not account satisfactorily for the  
general defects of our own historic     
productions1 in a similar way1--from a  

certain inertness and constitutional    
phlegm1 which does not habitually       
impress the workings of the mind in     
correspondent traces on the countenance1
 and which may also render us less      
sensible of these outward and visible   
signs of passion1 even when they are so 
impressed there8 ,the irregularity of   
proportion1 and want of symmetry1 in the
 structure of the national features1    
though it certainly enhances the        
difficulty of infusing natural grace and
 grandeur into the works of art1 rather 
accounts for our not having been able to
 attain the exquisite refinements of    
,grecian sculpture1 than for our not    
having rivalled the ,italian painters in
 expression4  ,mr4 ,west does not form  
an exception to1 but a confirmation of1 
these general observations4 ,his        
pictures have all that can be required  
in what relates to the composition of   
the subject2 to the regular arrangement 
of the groups2 the anatomical           
proportions of the human body2 and the  

technical knowledge of expression1--as  
far as expression is reducible to       
abstract rules1 and is merely a vehicle 
for the telling of a story2 so that     
anger1 wonder1 sorrow1 pity1 c4 have    
each their appropriate and well-known   
designations4 ,these1 however1 are but  
the instrumental parts of the art1 the  
means1 not the end2 but beyond these1   
,mr4 ,west's pictures do not go4 ,they  
never #8snatch a grace beyond the reach 
of art4' ,they exhibit the mask1 not the
 soul of expression4 ,we doubt1 whether1
 in the entire range of ,mr4 ,west's    
productions1 meritorious and admirable  
as the design and composition often are1
 there is to be found one truly fine    
head4 ,they display a total want of     
gusto4 ,in ,raphael1 the same divine    
spirit breathes through every part2 it  
either agitates the inmost frame1 or    
plays in gentle undulations on the      
trembling surface4 ,whether we see his  
figures bending with all the            
blandishments of maternal love1 or      

standing in the motionless silence of   
thought1 or hurried into the tumult of  
action1 the whole is under the impulse  
of deep passion4 ,but ,mr4 ,west sees   
hardly any thing in the human face but  
bones and cartilages2 or1 if he avails  
himself of the more flexible machinery  
of nerves and muscles1 it is only by    
rule and method4 ,the effect is not that
 which the soul of passion impresses on 
the countenance1 and which the soul of  
genius alone can seize2 but such as     
might1 in a good measure1 be given to   
wooden puppets or pasteboard figures1   
pulled by wires1 and taught to open the 
mouth1 or knit the forehead1 or raise   
the eyes in a very scientific manner4   
,in fact1 there is no want of art or    
learning in his pictures1 but of nature 
and feeling4  ,,means ,,of ,,promoting  
,,the ,,fine ,,arts4--,it is not long   
ago that an opinion was very general1   
that all that was wanting to the highest
 splendour and perfection of the arts in
 this country might be supplied by      

,academies and public institutions4 ,we 
believe the most sanguine promoters of  
this scheme have at present relaxed in  
their zeal4 ,there are three ways in    
which ,academies and public institutions
 may be supposed to promote the fine    
arts2 either by furnishing the best     
models to the student2 or by holding out
 immediate emolument and patronage2 or  
by improving the public taste4 ,we shall
 bestow a short consideration on the    
influence of each4  ,first1 a constant  
reference to the best models of art     
necessarily tends to enervate the mind1 
to intercept our view of nature1 and to 
distract the attention by a variety of  
unattainable excellence4 ,an intimate   
acquaintance with the works of the      
celebrated masters may indeed add to the
 indolent refinements of taste1 but will
 never produce one work of original     
genius1 one great artist4 ,in proof of  
the general truth of this observation1  
we might cite the history of the        
progress and decay of art in all        

countries where it has flourished4 ,it  
is a little extraordinary1 that if the  
real sources of perfection are to be    
sought in ,schools1 in ,models1 and     
,public ,institutions1 that whereever   
schools1 models1 and public institutions
 have existed1 there the arts should    
regularly disappear1--that the effect   
should never follow from the cause4     
,the ,greek statues remain to this day  
unrivalled1--the undisputed standard of 
the most perfect symmetry of form4 ,in  
,italy the art of painting has had the  
same fate4 ,after its long and painful  
struggles in the time of the earlier    
artists1 ,cimabue1 ,ghirlandaio1        
,massacio1 and others1 it burst out with
 a light almost too dazzling to behold1 
in the works of ,titian1 ,michael       
,angelo1 ,raphael1 and ,correggio2 which
 was reflected1 with diminished lustre1 
in the productions of their immediate   
disciples2 lingered for a while with the
 school of the ,carraccis1 and expired  
with ,guido ,reni4 ,from that period1   

painting sunk to so low a state in      
,italy as to excite only pity or        
contempt4 ,there is not a single name to
 redeem its faded glory from utter      
oblivion4 ,yet this has not been owing  
to any want of ,dilettanti and ,della   
,cruscan societies1--of academies of    
,florence1 of ,bologna1 of ,parma1 and  
,pisa1--of honorary members and ,foreign
 ,correspondents--of pupils and         
teachers1 professors and patrons1 and   
the whole busy tribe of critics and     
connoisseurs4  ,what is become of the   
successors of ,rubens1 ,rembrandt1 and  
,vandyke8 ,what have the ,french        
,academicians done for the arts2 or what
 will they ever do1 but add intolerable 
affectation and grimace to centos of    
heads from the antique1 and caricature  
,greek forms by putting them into opera 
attitudes8 ,nicholas ,poussin is the    
only example on record in favour of the 
contrary theory1 and we have already    
sufficiently noticed his defects4 ,what 
extraordinary advances have we made in  

our own country in consequence of the   
establishment of the ,royal ,academy8   
,what greater names has the ,english    
school to boast than those of ,hogarth1 
,reynolds1 and ,wilson1 who created it8 
,even the venerable ,president of the   
,royal ,academy was one of its founders4
  ,again1 we might cite1 in support of  
our assertion1 the works of ,carlo      
,maratti1 of ,raphael ,mengs1 or of any 
of the effeminate school of critics and 
copyists1 who have attempted to blend   
the borrowed beauties of others in a    
perfect whole4 ,what do they contain1   
but a negation of every excellence which
 they pretend to combine8 ,the assiduous
 imitator1 in his attempts to grasp all1
 loses his hold of that which was placed
 within his reach1 and1 from aspiring at
 universal excellence1 sinks into       
uniform mediocrity4 ,the student who has
 models of every kind of excellence     
constantly before him1 is not only      
diverted from that particular walk of   
art1 in which1 by patient exertion1 he  

might have obtained ultimate success1   
but1 from having his imagination        
habitually raised to an overstrained    
standard of refinement1 by the sight of 
the most exquisite examples in art1 he  
becomes impatient and dissatisfied with 
his own attempts1 determines to reach   
the same perfection all at once1 or     
throws down his pencil in despair4 ,thus
 the young enthusiast1 whose genius and 
energy were to rival the great ,masters 
of antiquity1 or create a new ra in the 
art itself1 baffled in his first        
sanguine expectations1 reposes in       
indolence on what others have done2     
wonders how such perfection could have  
been achieved1--grows familiar with the 
minutest peculiarities of the different 
schools1--flutters between the splendour
 of ,rubens1 and the grace of ,raphael1 
and ends in nothing4 ,such was not      
,correggio4 ,he saw and felt for        
himself2 he was of no school1 but had   
his own world of art to create4 ,that   
image of truth and beauty1 which existed

 in his mind1 he was forced to construct
 for himself1 without rules or models4  
,as it had arisen in his mind from the  
contemplation of nature1 so he could    
only hope to embody it to others1 by the
 imitation of nature4 ,we can conceive  
the work growing under his hands by slow
 and patient touches1 approaching nearer
 to perfection1 softened into finer     
grace1 gaining strength from delicacy1  
and at last reflecting the pure image of
 nature on the canvass4 ,such is always 
the true progress of art2 such are the  
necessary means by which the greatest   
works of every kind have been produced4 
,they have been the effect of power     
gathering strength from exercise1 and   
warmth from its own impulse--stimulated 
to fresh efforts by conscious success1  
and by the surprise and strangeness of a
 new world of beauty1 opening to the    
delighted imagination4 ,the triumphs of 
art were victories over the difficulties
 of art2 the prodigies of genius1 the   
result of that strength which had       

grappled with nature4 ,titian copied    
even a plant or a piece of common       
drapery from the objects themselves2 and
 ,raphael is known to have made         
elaborate studies of the principal heads
 in his pictures4 ,all the great        
painters of this period were thoroughly 
grounded in the first principles of     
their art2 had learned to copy a face1 a
 hand1 or an eye1 and had acquired      
patience to finish a single figure1     
before they undertook to paint extensive
 compositions4 ,they knew that though   
,fame is represented with her head above
 the clouds1 her feet rest upon the     
earth4 ,genius can only have its full   
scope1 where1 though much may have been 
done1 more remains to do2 where models  
exist chiefly to show the deficiencies  
of art1 and where the perfect idea is   
left to be filled up in the painter's   
imagination4 ,when once the stimulus of 
novelty and of original exertion is     
wanting1 generations repose on what has 
been done for them by their             

predecessors1 as individuals1 after a   
certain period1 rest satisfied with the 
knowledge they have already acquired4   
,with regard to the pecuniary advantages
 arising from the public patronage of   
the arts2--the plan unfortunately       
defeats itself2 for it multiplies its   
objects faster than it can satisfy their
 claims2 and raises up a swarm of       
competitors for the prize of genius from
 the dregs of idleness and dulness4 ,the
 real patron is anxious to reward merit1
 not to encourage gratuitous pretensions
 to it2 to see that the man of genius   
takes no detriment1 that another ,wilson
 is not left to perish for want2--not to
 propagate the breed of embryo          
candidates for fame4 ,offers of public  
and promiscuous patronage can in general
 be little better than a species of     
intellectual seduction1 administering   
provocatives to vanity and avarice1 and 
leading astray the youth of the nation  
by fallacious hopes1 which can scarcely 
ever be realized4 ,at the same time1 the

 good that might be done by private     
taste and benevolence1 is in a great    
measure defeated4 ,the moment that a few
 individuals of discernment and liberal 
spirit become members of a public body1 
they are no longer anything more than   
parts of a machine1 which is usually    
wielded at will by some officious1      
overweening pretender2 their good-sense 
and good-nature are lost in a mass of   
ignorance and presumption2 their names  
only serve to reflect credit on         
proceedings in which they have no share1
 and which are determined on by a       
majority of persons who have no interest
 in the arts but what arises from the   
importance attached to them by regular  
organization1 and no opinions but what  
are dictated to them by some            
self-constituted judge4 ,as far as we   
have had an opportunity of observing the
 conduct of such bodies of men1 instead 
of taking the lead of public opinion1 of
 giving a firm1 manly1 and independent  
tone to that opinion1 they make it their

 business to watch all its caprices1 and
 follow it in every casual turning4     
,they dare not give their sanction to   
sterling merit1 struggling with         
difficulties1 but take advantage of its 
success1 to reflect credit on their own 
reputation for sagacity4 ,their taste is
 a servile dependant on their vanity1   
and their patronage has an air of       
pauperism about it4 ,perhaps the only   
public patronage which was ever really  
useful to the arts1 or worthy of them1  
was that which they received first in   
,greece1 and afterwards in ,italy1 from 
the religious institutions of the       
country2 when the artist felt himself1  
as it were1 a servant at the altar2 when
 his hand gave a visible form to ,gods  
or ,heroes1 ,angels or ,apostles2 and   
when the enthusiasm of genius was       
exalted by mingling with the flame of   
national devotion4 ,the artist was not  
here degraded1 by being made the        
dependant on the caprice of wealth or   
fashion1 but felt himself at once the   

servant and the benefactor of the       
public4 ,he had to embody1 by the       
highest efforts of his art1 subjects    
which were sacred to the imagination and
 feelings of the spectators2 there was a
 common link1 a mutual sympathy between 
them in their common faith4 ,every other
 mode of patronage1 but that which      
arises1 either from the general         
institutions and manners of a people1 or
 from the real unaffected taste of      
individuals1 must1 we conceive1 be      
illegitimate1 corrupted in its source1  
and either ineffectual or injurious to  
its professed object4  ,lastly1         
,academies and ,institutions may be     
supposed to assist the progress of the  
fine arts1 by promoting a wider taste   
for them4  ,in general1 it must happen  
in the first stages of the arts1 that as
 none but those who had a natural genius
 for them would attempt to practise     
them1--so none but those who had a      
natural taste for them1 would pretend to
 judge of or criticise them4 ,this must 

be an incalculable advantage to the man 
of true genius2 for it is no other than 
the privilege of being tried by his     
peers4 ,in an age when connoisseurship  
had not become a fashion2 when religion1
 war1 and intrigue1 occupied the time   
and thoughts of the great1 only those   
minds of superior refinement would be   
led to notice the works of art1 who had 
a real sense of their excellence2 and1  
in giving way to the powerful bent of   
his own genius1 the painter was most    
likely to consult the taste of his      
judges4 ,he had not to deal with        
pretenders to taste1 through vanity1    
affectation1 and idleness4 ,he had to   
appeal to the higher faculties of the   
soul1--to that deep and innate          
sensibility to truth and beauty1 which  
required only fit objects to have its   
enthusiasm excited1--and to that        
independent strength of mind1 which1 in 
the midst of ignorance and barbarism1   
hailed and fostered genius whereever it 
met with it4 ,titian was patronised by  

,charles ,v4 ,count ,castiglione was the
 friend of ,raphael4 ,these were true   
patrons and true critics2 and1 as there 
were no others 7for the world1 in       
general1 merely looked on and wondered71
 there can be little doubt that such a  
period of dearth of factitious patronage
 would be most favourable to the full   
developement of the greatest talents1   
and to the attainment of the highest    
excellence4  ,by means of public        
institutions1 the number of candidates  
for fame1 and pretenders to criticism1  
is increased beyond all calculation1    
while the quantity of genius and feeling
 remain much the same as before2 with   
these disadvantages1 that the man of    
original genius is often lost among the 
crowd of competitors who would never    
have become such1 but from encouragement
 and example1 and that the voice of the 
few whom nature intended for judges1 is 
apt to be drowned in the noisy and      
forward suffrages of shallow smatterers 
in ,taste4                              

,,james ,,barry   ,barry 7,james7 an    
eminent painter1 was born in ,cork1 in  
,ireland1 ,october #aa1 #agda4 ,his     
father had been a builder1 and at one   
time of his life1 a coasting trader     
between the two countries of ,england   
and ,ireland4 ,to this business of a    
trader was ,james destined1 and he      
actually made1 when a boy1 several      
voyages2 but these voyages being forced 
upon him1 he on one occasion ran away   
from the ship1 and on others discovered 
such an aversion to the life and habits 
of a sailor1 as to induce his father to 
quit all hopes of him in this line1 and 
to suffer him to pursue his             
inclinations1 which led him to drawing  
and study4 ,when on board his father's  
vessel1 instead of handling sails and   
ropes1 and climbing the mast1 he was    
generally occupied with a piece of black
 chalk1 sketching the coast1 or drawing 
figures1 as his fancy directed him4     
,when his father found that the idea of 
making a sailor of him must be given up1

 he permitted him to acquire as much    
instruction as the schools of ,cork     
afforded2 but long retained his aversion
 to the chalk drawings1 with which the  
floors and walls of the house were      
covered2 the boy being always engaged in
 some attempt at large figures1 and     
early catching at the means of          
representing action1 attitude1 and      
passion4 ,it was at a very early period 
of his life that some bookseller in     
,ireland1 undertaking to reprint a set  
of fables or emblems1 young ,barry      
offered to furnish the drawings1 and1 as
 it is believed1 helped to etch the     
engravings1 such as they were4 ,at the  
schools in ,cork1 which he was sent to1 
he was distinguished by his parts and   
industry above his school-fellows2 his  
habits differed from those of ordinary  
boys1 as he seldom mixed in their games 
or amusements1 but at those times stole 
off to his own room1 where he worked at 
his pencil1 or was studying some book   
that he had borrowed or bought4 ,he     

would spend whole nights in this manner 
at his studies1 to the alarm of his     
mother1 who dreaded his injuring his    
health or setting fire to the house1 and
 who often kept up his sister or the    
servant to watch him4 ,his allowance of 
money he spent in buying books or       
candles to read by2 he sometimes locked 
himself up in his room for days1 and    
seldom slept upon his bed1 or else made 
it so hard as to take away the          
temptation or luxury of lying long in   
it4 ,perhaps the unsocial and ascetic   
turn of his temper1 which thus early    
manifested itself1 might be remarked as 
the source both of the misfortunes of   
his life1 and the defects of his genius4
 ,common humanity1 a sense of pleasure1 
and a sympathy with the feelings of     
those around us1 is not more necessary  
to success in life1 than it probably is 
to success in the fine arts4 ,few things
 can be more fatal to the artist than   
this sort of indifference to the common 
pleasures and pursuits of life4 ,if     

affected1 it is bad2 if real and        
constitutional1 it is even worse4 ,it   
stuck to poor ,barry to the last4 ,it is
 not to be understood that1 at this     
period of his life1 he led the life of  
an absolute recluse1 for he could and   
did occasionally join in any feats going
 on in the neighbourhood1 and was not   
behind other boys in such pastimes and  
mischief as boys are usually fond of4   
,an adventure which happened to him     
about this time1 and which left a strong
 impression on his mind1 is worth       
mentioning here4 ,in one of his rambles 
in the neighbourhood1 he entered1 one   
winter's evening1 an old1 and1 as he    
thought1 an uninhabited house1 situate  
in a narrow bye-lane in the city of     
,cork4 ,the house was without doors or  
windows2 but curiosity impelled him to  
enter1 and1 after mounting a rotten     
staircase1 which conducted to empty     
rooms on different floors1 he arrived at
 the garret1 where he could just        
discern1 by the glimmering light of a   

few embers1 two old and emaciated       
figures1 broken by age1 disease1 and    
want1 sitting beside each other1 in the 
act1 as far as their palsied efforts    
would permit1 of tearing each other's   
faces2 not a word being uttered by      
either1 but with the most horrible      
grimaces that malice could invent4 ,they
 took no notice of his entrance1 but    
went on with their deeds of mutual hate1
 which made such an impression on the   
boy that he ran down stairs1 making his 
own reflections1 which he afterwards    
found verified through life1 that man   
and all animals are malicious and cruel 
in proportion as they are impotent2 and 
that age and poverty1 two of the worst  
evils in human life1 almost always add  
to the calamities inherent in them by   
arts of their own creating4 ,in general1
 his great desire to improve his mind   
led him to seek the society of educated 
men2 who were not averse to receive him1
 seeing his active and inquisitive      
disposition1 and his seriousness of     

manner1 couched under a garb the        
plainest and coarsest2 for he adopted   
this kind of attire from his childhood1 
not from affectation1 but from an       
indifference to all dress4 ,having a    
retentive memory1 he profited by his own
 reading1 and by the conversation of    
others1 who directed him also in the    
choice of books4 ,as his finances were  
too low to make many purchases1 he      
borrowed books from his friends1 and was
 in the practice of making large        
extracts from such as he particularly   
liked1 and sometimes even of copying out
 the whole book1 of which several       
specimens were found among his papers1  
written in a stiff school-boy's hand4   
,as his industry was excessive1 his     
advances in the acquisition of knowledge
 were rapid1 and he was regarded as a   
prodigy by his school-fellows4 ,his     
mother being a zealous ,catholic1 the   
son could not avoid mixing at times in  
the company of priests resident at      
,cork1 who pointed out to him books of  

polemical divinity1 of which he became a
 great reader1 and for which he retained
 a strong bias during his lifetime4 ,he 
was said at one time to have been       
destined for the priesthood1 but for    
this report there is no authority4 ,he1 
however1 always continued a ,catholic1  
and in the decline of life manifested   
rather a bigoted attachment to the      
religion of his early choice4 ,for a    
short interval he had a little wavering 
in his belief of revealed religion in   
general2 but a conversation with ,mr4   
,edmund ,burke put an end to this       
levity4 ,a book which ,mr4 ,burke lent  
him1 and which settled his mind on this 
subject1 was ,bishop ,butler's ,analogy2
 and1 as a suitable reward1 he has      
placed this ,prelate in the group of    
divines1 in his picture of ,elysium4    
,about the age of seventeen he first    
attempted oil paintings2 and between    
that and the age of twenty-two1 when he 
first went to ,dublin1 he produced      
several large ones1 which decorated his 

father's house1 and represented subjects
 not often handled by young men2 such as
 neas escaping with his family from the 
flames of ,troy2 ,susanna and the       
,elders2 ,daniel in the ,lion's ,den1 c4
 ,at this period1 he also produced the  
picture which first drew him into public
 notice1 launched him on an ampler      
theatre than his native town of ,cork   
afforded1 and1 above all1 gained him the
 acquaintance and patronage of ,mr4     
,burke4 ,this picture was founded on an 
old tradition of the landing of ,st4    
,patrick on the sea-coast of ,cashel1   
and of the conversion and baptism of the
 king of that district by the patron    
saint of ,ireland4 ,the priest1 in the  
act of baptizing his new convert1       
inadvertently strikes the spear of the  
crosier in the foot of the monarch4 ,the
 holy father1 absorbed in the duties of 
his office1 does not perceive what he   
has done1 and the king1 without         
interrupting the ceremony1 bears the    
pain with immoveable fortitude4 ,this   

incident1 together with the gestures and
 expressions of the attendants1         
certainly formed a good subject for an  
historical picture2 and ,mr4 ,barry's   
manner of treating it was such as to    
insure him the applause and admiration  
of the connoisseurs of the metropolis of
 the sister kingdom1 where it was       
exhibited in #agfb or #agfc4 ,mr4 ,barry
 took this picture with him to ,dublin2 
and afterwards going to the exhibition  
room1 being delighted with the encomiums
 it received from the spectators1 he    
could not refrain from making himself   
known as the painter4 ,his pretensions  
were treated with great contempt by the 
company1 and ,barry burst into tears of 
anger and vexation4 ,but the incredulity
 of his hearers was a compliment paid to
 the real or supposed excellence of his 
painting4 ,it appears that a ,dr4       
,sleigh1 a physician of ,cork1 and a    
sensible and amiable man1 was first     
instrumental in introducing young ,barry
 to the notice of ,mr4 ,burke4 ,during  

their early acquaintance1 having fallen 
into a dispute on the subject of taste1 
,barry quoted a passage in support of   
his opinion from the ,essay on the      
,sublime and ,beautiful1 which had been 
just then published anonymously1 and    
which ,barry1 in his youthful admiration
 of it1 had1 it seems1 transcribed      
entire4 ,burke affected to treat this   
work as a theoretical romance1 of no    
authority whatever1 which threw ,barry  
into such a rage in its defence1 that   
,mr4 ,burke thought it necessary to     
appease him by owning himself to be the 
author4 ,the scene ended in ,barry's    
running to embrace him1 and showing him 
the copy of the work which he had been  
at the pains to transcribe4 ,he passed  
his time in ,dublin in reading1 drawing1
 and society4 ,while he resided here1 an
 anecdote is preserved of him1 which    
marks the character of the man4 ,he had 
been enticed by his companions several  
times to carousings at a tavern1 and one
 night1 as he wandered home by himself1 

a thought struck him of the frivolity   
and viciousness of thus mis-spending his
 time3 the fault1 he imagined1 lay in   
his money1 and1 therefore1 without more 
ado1 in order to avoid the morrow's     
temptation1 he threw the whole of his   
wealth1 which perhaps amounted to no    
great sum1 into the ,liffey1 and locked 
himself up at his favourite pursuits4   
,after a residence of seven or eight    
months in ,dublin1 an opportunity       
offered of accompanying some part of    
,mr4 ,burke's family to ,london1 which  
he eagerly embraced4 ,this took place   
some time in the year #agfd1 when he was
 twenty-three years of age1 and with one
 of those advantages which do not always
 fall to the lot of young artists on    
their arrival in the ,british capital1  
that of being recommended to the        
acquaintance of the most eminent men in 
the profession by the persuasive        
eloquence of a man who1 to genius in    
himself1 added the rare and noble       
quality of encouraging it in others2    

this was ,mr4 ,burke1 who lost no time1 
not merely in making ,barry known1 but  
in procuring for him the first of all   
objects to an inexperienced and         
destitute young artist1 employment4     
,this employment was chiefly that of    
copying in oil drawings by ,mr4         
,stewart1 better known by the name of   
,athenian ,stewart2 and whether it      
suited the ambition of ,barry or not1 to
 be at this kind of labour1 yet there   
can be no doubt that he profited by his 
connection with such a man as ,stewart1 
and had full leisure to cast his eye    
about1 and to improve by the general    
aspect of art and artists that occupied 
the period4  ,mr4 ,burke and his other  
friends thinking it important that he   
should be introduced to a wider and     
nobler school of art than this country  
afforded1 now came forward with the     
means necessary to accomplish this      
object2 and in the latter end of #agfe  
,mr4 ,barry proceeded to the ,continent1
 where he remained till the beginning of

 #agga1 studying his art with an        
enthusiasm which seemed to augur the    
highest success1 and making observations
 on the different chef d'uvres of ,italy
 with equal independence of judgment and
 nicety of discrimination4 ,he was      
supported during this period by the     
friendly liberality of the ,burke family
 7,edmund1 ,william1 and ,richard71 who 
allowed him forty pounds a-year for his 
necessary expenditure1 besides          
occasional remittances for particular   
purposes4 ,he proceeded first to ,paris1
 then to ,rome1 where he remained       
upwards of three years1 from thence to  
,florence and ,bologna1 and home through
 ,venice4 ,his letters to the ,burkes1  
giving an account of ,michael ,angelo1  
,raphael1 ,titian1 and ,leonardo da     
,vinci1 show a complete insight into the
 characteristic merits of their works1  
and would make us wonder 7if the case   
were at all singular7 how he could enter
 with such force1 delicacy1 and feeling1
 into excellencies of which he never    

transplanted an atom into his own works4
 ,he saw1 felt1 and wrote2 his          
impressions were profound and refined1  
but the expression of them must be      
instantaneous1 such as gave the results 
of them with a stroke of the pen1 as    
they were received by a glance of the   
eye1 and he could not wait for the slow 
process of the pencil for embodying his 
conceptions in the necessary details of 
his own art4 ,it was his desire to make 
the ideas and language of painting      
co-instantaneous1--to express abstract  
results by abstract mechanical means 7a 
thing impossible71--to stamp the idea in
 his mind at once upon the canvass1     
without knowledge of its parts1 without 
labour1 without patience1 without a     
moment's time or thought intervening    
between what he wished to do and its    
being done1 that was perhaps the        
principal obstacle to his ever attaining
 a degree of excellence in his          
profession at all proportioned either to
 his ambition or his genius4 ,it is     

probable1 that1 as his hand had not the 
patience to give the details of objects1
 his eye1 from the same habit of mind1  
had not the power to analyze them4 ,it  
is possible1 however1 to see the results
 without the same laborious process that
 is necessary to convey them2 for the   
eye sees faster than the hand can move4 
,we suspect ,mr4 ,barry did not succeed 
very well in copying the pictures he so 
well describes2 because he appears to   
have copied but few1 only one of        
,raphael1 as far as we can find1 and    
three from ,titian1 whom he justly      
considered as the model of colouring1   
and as more perfect in that department  
of the art than either ,raphael or      
,michael ,angelo were in theirs1        
expression and form1 the highest        
excellence in which he conceives to have
 been possessed only by the ancients4   
,in copying from the antique1 however1  
he manifested the same aversion to      
labour1 or to that kind of labour which1
 by showing us our defects1 compels us  

to make exertions to remedy them4 ,he   
made all his drawings from the antique1 
by means of a delineator1 that is1 a    
mechanical instrument1 to save the      
trouble of acquiring a knowledge both of
 form and proportion4 ,in this manner1  
equally gratifying to his indolence and 
his self-love1 he is stated to have made
 numberless sketches of the antique     
statues1 of all sizes1 and in all       
directions1 carefully noting down on his
 sketch-paper their several measurements
 and proportions4  ,the consequences are
 before us in his pictures2 namely1 that
 all those of his figures which he took 
from these memorandums are deficient in 
every thing but form1 and that all the  
others are equally deficient in form and
 every thing else4 ,if he did not employ
 his pencil properly1 or enough1 in     
copying from the models he saw1 he      
employed his thoughts and his pen about 
them with indefatigable zeal and spirit4
 ,he talked well about them2 he wrote   
well about them2 he made researches into

 all the collateral branches of art and 
knowledge1 sculpture1 architecture1     
cameos1 seals1 and intaglios4 ,there is 
a long letter of his1 addressed to ,mr4 
,burke1 on the origin of the ,gothic    
style of architecture1 written1 as it   
should seem1 to convince his friend and 
patron of his industry in neglecting his
 proper business4 ,soon after his       
arrival at ,rome1 he became embroiled   
with the whole tribe of connoisseurs1   
painters1 and patrons there1 whether    
native or foreign1 on subjects of virt2 
and he continued in this state of       
hostility with those around him while he
 staid there1 and1 indeed1 to the end of
 his life4 ,one might be tempted to     
suppose that ,barry chiefly studied his 
art as a subject to employ his          
dialectics upon4 ,on this unfortunate   
disposition of his to wrangling and     
controversy1 as it was likely to affect 
his progress in his art and his progress
 in life1 he received some most         
judicious advice from ,sir ,joshua      

,reynolds and ,mr4 ,burke1 his answers  
to which show an admirable              
self-ignorance4 ,on his irritable       
denunciations of the practices and      
tricks of the ,italian picture-dealers1 
,mr4 ,burke makes a reflection well     
deserving of attention4 #8,in           
particular1 you may be assured that the 
traffic in antiquity1 and all the       
enthusiasm1 folly1 and fraud1 which may 
be in it1 never did1 nor never can1 hurt
 the merit of living artists4 ,quite the
 contrary1 in my opinion3 for ,i have   
ever observed1 that1 whatever it be that
 turns the minds of men to anything     
relative to the arts1 even the most     
remotely so1 brings artists more and    
more into credit and repute2 and though1
 now and then1 the mere broker and      
dealer in such things runs away with a  
great deal of profit1 yet1 in the end1  
ingenious men will find themselves      
gainers by the dispositions which are   
nourished and diffused in the world by  
such pursuits4' ,mr4 ,barry painted two 

pictures while abroad1 his ,adam and    
,eve and his ,philoctetes4 ,the first of
 these he sent home as a specimen of his
 progress in the art4 ,it does not      
appear to have given much satisfaction4 
,his ,philoctetes he brought home with  
him4 ,it is a most wretched1 coarse1    
unclassical performance1 the direct     
opposite of all that he thought it to   
be4 ,during his stay at ,rome1 he made  
an excursion to ,naples1 and was highly 
delighted with the collections of art   
there4 ,all the time he was abroad1 ,mr4
 ,burke and his brothers not only were  
punctual in their remittances to him1   
but kept up a most friendly and cordial 
correspondence4 ,on one occasion1 owing 
to the delay of a letter1 a bill which  
,barry had presented to a banker was    
dishonoured4 ,this detained ,barry for  
some time at the place where he was in  
very awkward circumstances1 and he had  
thoughts of getting rid of his chagrin  
and of his prospects in life at once1 by
 running away and turning friar4 ,for   

some time previous to his return to     
,england1 ,mr4 ,hamilton 7afterwards    
,sir ,william7 appears to have been     
almost the only person with whom he kept
 up any intimacy4 ,it was on his return 
home through ,milan that he witnessed1  
and has recorded with due reprobation1  
the destruction of ,leonardo's ,last    
,supper1 which two bungling artists were
 employed to paint over by order of one 
,count de ,firmian1 the secretary of    
state4  ,in the spring of #agga1 ,mr4   
,barry arrived in ,england1 after an    
absence of five years4 ,he soon after   
produced his picture of ,venus1 which   
has been compared to the ,galatea of    
,raphael1 the ,venus of ,titian1 and the
 ,venus of ,medicis1 without reason4    
,mr4 ,barry flattered himself that he   
had surpassed the famous statue of that 
name1 by avoiding the appearance of     
maternity in it4 ,there is an engraving 
of it by ,mr4 ,valentine ,green4 ,in    
#aggc1 he exhibited his ,jupiter and    
,juno on ,mount ,ida1 which was much    

praised by some critics of that day4    
,his ,death of ,general ,wolfe was      
considered as a falling off from his    
great style of art1 which consisted in  
painting ,greek subjects1 and it        
accordingly is said to #8have obtained  
no praise4' ,his fondness for ,greek    
costume was assigned by his admirers as 
the cause of his reluctance to paint    
portraits2 as if the coat was of more   
importance than the face4 ,his          
fastidiousness1 in this respect1 and his
 frequent excuses1 or blunt refusals1 to
 go on with a portrait of ,mr4 ,burke1  
which he had begun1 caused a            
misunderstanding with that gentleman1   
which does not appear to have been ever 
entirely made up4 ,the difference       
between them is said to have been       
widened by ,burke's growing intimacy    
with ,sir ,joshua1 and by ,barry's      
feeling some little jealousy of the fame
 and fortune of his rival in an humbler 
walk of the art4 ,he1 about the same    
time1 painted a pair of classical       

subjects1 ,mercury inventing the ,lyre1 
and ,narcissus looking at himself in the
 water1 the last suggested to him by    
,mr4 ,burke4 ,he also painted an        
historical picture of ,chiron and       
,achilles1 and another of the story of  
,stratonice1 for which last the ,duke of
 ,richmond gave him a hundred guineas4  
,in #aggc1 there was a plan in          
contemplation for our artists to        
decorate the inside of ,st4 ,paul's with
 historical and sacred subjects2 but    
this plan fell to the ground1 from its  
not meeting with the concurrence of the 
,bishop of ,london and the ,archbishop  
of ,canterbury1 to the no small         
mortification of ,barry1 who had fixed  
upon the subject he was to paint1--the  
rejection of ,christ by the ,jews when  
,pilate proposes his release4 ,in #agge1
 he published ,an ,inquiry into the real
 and imaginary ,obstructions to the     
,acquisition of the ,arts in ,england1  
vindicating the capacity of the ,english
 for the fine arts1 and tracing their   

slow progress hitherto to the           
,reformation2 to political and civil    
dissensions2 and1 lastly1 to the general
 turn of the public mind to mechanics1  
manufactures1 and commerce4 ,in the year
 #aggd1 shortly after the failure of the
 scheme of decorating ,st4 ,paul's1 a   
proposal was made1 through ,mr4         
,valentine ,green1 to the same artists1 
,reynolds1 ,west1 ,cipriani1 ,barry1 c4 
for ornamenting the great room of the   
,society for the ,encouragement of      
,arts1 ,manufactures1 and ,commerce1 in 
the ,adelphi1 with historical and       
allegorical paintings4 ,this proposal   
was at the time rejected by the artists 
themselves2 but1 in #aggg1 ,mr4 ,barry  
made an offer to paint the whole        
himself1 on condition of being allowed  
the choice of his subjects1 and being   
paid the expense of canvass1 paints1 and
 models1 by the ,society4 ,this offer   
was accepted1 and he finished the series
 of pictures at the end of seven years1 
instead of two1 which he had proposed to

 himself1 but with entire satisfaction  
to the members of the ,society1 for whom
 it was intended1 and who conducted     
themselves to him with liberality       
throughout4 ,they granted him two       
exhibitions1 and at different periods   
voted him #ej guineas1 their gold medal1
 and again #bjj guineas1 and a seat     
among them4 ,dr4 ,johnson remarked1 when
 he saw the pictures1 that1 #8whatever  
the hand had done1 the head had done its
 part4' ,there was an excellent         
anonymous criticism1 supposed to be by  
,mr4 ,burke1 published on them1 in      
answer to some remarks put forth by     
,barry1 in his descriptive catalogue1 on
 the ideal style of art1 and the        
necessity of size to grandeur4 ,his     
notions on both these subjects are very 
ably controverted1 and1 indeed1 they are
 the rock on which ,barry's genius      
split4 ,it would be curious if ,mr4     
,burke were the author of these         
strictures2 for it is not improbable    
that ,barry was led into the last error1

 here deprecated1 by that author's      
,essay on the ,sublime and ,beautiful4  
,the series consists of six pictures1   
showing the progress of human culture4  
,the first represents ,orpheus taming   
the savages by his lyre4 ,the figure of 
,orpheus himself is more like a drunken 
bacchanal than an inspired poet or      
lawgiver4 ,the only part of this picture
 which is valuable is the background1 in
 one part of which a lion is seen ready 
to dart upon a family group milking near
 a cave1 and1 in another1 a tyger is    
pursuing a horse4 ,there is certainly a 
scope of thought and picturesque        
invention1 in thus showing indirectly   
the protection which civilization       
extends1 as it were1 over both man and  
animals4 ,the second picture is a       
,grecian harvest1 which has nothing     
,grecian in it4 ,but we cannot apply    
this censure to the third picture of the
 ,olympic ,games1 some of the figures in
 which1 and the principal group1 are    
exceedingly graceful1 classical1 and    

finely conceived4 ,this picture is the  
only proof ,mr4 ,barry has left upon    
canvass that he was not utterly         
insensible to the beauties of the art4  
,the figure of the young man on         
horseback really reminds the spectator  
of some of the ,elgin marbles2 and the  
outlines of the two youthful victors at 
the games1 supporting their father on   
their shoulders1 are excellent4 ,the    
colouring is1 however1 as bald and      
wretched in this picture as the rest1   
and there is a great want of expression4
 ,the fourth picture is the triumph of  
commerce1 with ,dr4 ,burney swimming in 
the ,thames1 with his hair powdered1    
among naked sea-nymphs4 ,the fifth1 the 
,society of ,arts1 distributing their   
annual prizes4 ,and the sixth represents
 ,elysium4 ,this last picture is a      
collection of caricatured portraits of  
celebrated individuals of all ages and  
nations1 strangely jumbled together1    
with a huge allegorical figure of       
,retribution driving ,heresy1 ,vice1 and

 ,atheism1 into the infernal regions4   
,the moral design of all these pictures 
is much better explained in the         
catalogue than on the canvass2 and the  
artist has added none of the graces of  
the pencil to it in any of them1 with   
the exception above made4 ,mr4 ,barry   
appears1 however1 to have rested his    
pretensions to fame as an artist on this
 work1 for he did little afterwards but 
paltry engravings from himself1 and the 
enormous and totally worthless picture  
of ,pandora in the assembly of the gods4
 ,his self-denial1 frugality1 and       
fortitude1 in the prosecution of his    
work at the ,adelphi1 cannot be too much
 applauded4 ,he has been heard to say1  
that at the time of his undertaking it1 
he had only #afs4 in his pocket2 and    
that he had often been obliged1 after   
painting all day1 to sit up at night to 
sketch or engrave some design for the   
printsellers1 which was to supply him   
with his next day's subsistence4 ,in    
this manner he did his prints of ,job1  

dedicated to ,mr4 ,burke1 of the birth  
of ,venus1 ,polemon1 ,head of ,chatham1 
,king ,lear1 from the picture painted   
for the ,shakespear gallery1 c4 ,his    
prints are caricatures even of his      
pictures3 they seem engraved on rotten  
wood4  ,soon after ,mr4 ,barry's return 
from the ,continent1 he was chosen a    
member of the ,royal ,academy2 and in   
#aghb1 was appointed professor of       
painting1 in the room of ,mr4 ,penny1   
with a salary of #cj a-year4 ,the       
lectures which he delivered from the    
chair were full of strong sense1 and    
strong advice1 both to the students and 
academicians4 ,among other things1 he   
insisted much on the necessity of       
purchasing a collection of pictures by  
the best masters as models for the      
students1 and proposed several of those 
in the ,orleans collection4 ,this       
recommendation was not relished by the  
academicians1 who1 perhaps1 thought     
their own pictures the best models for  
their several pupils4 ,bickerings1      

jealousies1 and quarrels arose1 and at  
length reached such a height1 that1 in  
#agii1 ,mr4 ,barry was expelled from the
 academy1 soon after the appearance of  
his ,letter to the ,dilettanti ,society2
 a very amusing1 but eccentric          
publication1 full of the highest        
enthusiasm for his art1 and the lowest  
contempt for the living professors of   
it4 ,in #ahjj1 he undertook a design or 
drawing to celebrate the union of the   
two kingdoms of ,great ,britain and     
,ireland4 ,the profits of the two       
exhibitions of the ,adelphi pictures are
 said to have amounted to above #ejj4   
,lord ,romney presented him with #ajj   
guineas for his portrait1 which had been
 copied into one of the pictures1 and he
 had twenty guineas for a head of ,mr4  
,hooper4 ,he probably received other    
sums for portraits introduced into the  
work4 ,by extreme frugality he          
contrived1 not only to live1 but to save
 money4 ,his house was twice robbed of  
sums which he kept by him2 one of the   

times 7in #agid7 of upwards of #ajj2 a  
loss which was made up by the           
munificence of ,lord ,radnor1 and by    
that of his friends1 the ,hollis's4     
,after the loss of his salary1 a        
subscription was set on foot by the     
,earl of ,buchan to relieve him from his
 difficulties1 and to settle him in a   
larger house to finish his picture of   
,pandora4 ,the subscription amounted to 
#ajjj1 with which an annuity was bought2
 but of this he was prevented from      
enjoying the benefit2 for1 on the #fth  
of ,february #ahjf1 he was seized with a
 pleuritic fever1 and as he neglected   
medical assistance at first1 it was     
afterwards of no use4 ,after lingering  
on for a fortnight in considerable pain1
 but without losing his fortitude of    
mind1 he died on the #bb;d of the same  
month4 ,on the #acth of ,march1 the body
 was taken to the great room of the     
,society of ,arts1 and was thence       
attended1 the following day1 by a       
numerous and respectable train of his   

friends to the cathedral of ,st4        
,paul's1 where it was deposited4  ,mr4  
,barry1 as an artist1 a writer1 and a   
man1 was distinguished by great         
inequality of powers and extreme        
contradictions in character4 ,he was    
gross and refined at the same time2     
violent and urbane2 sociable and sullen2
 inflammable and inert2 ardent and      
phlegmatic2 relapsing from enthusiasm   
into indolence2 irritable1 headstrong1  
impatient of restraint2 captious in his 
intercourse with his friends1 wavering  
and desultory in his profession4 ,in his
 personal habits he was careless of     
appearances or decency1 penurious1      
slovenly1 and squalid4 ,he regarded     
nothing but his immediate impulses1     
confirmed into incorrigible habits4 ,his
 pencil was under no control4 ,his eye  
and his hand seemed to receive a first  
rude impulse1 to which it gave itself   
up1 and paid no regard to any thing     
else4 ,the strength of the original     
impetus only drove him farther from his 

object4 ,his genius constantly flew off 
in tangents1 and came in contact with   
nature only at salient points4 ,there   
are two drawings of his from statues of 
a lion and a lioness at ,rome2 the nose 
of the lioness is two straight lines2   
the ears of the lion two curves1 which  
might be mistaken for horns2 as if1     
after it had taken its first direction1 
he lost the use of his hand1 and his    
tools worked mechanically and           
monotonously without his will4 ,his     
enthusiasm and vigour were exhausted in 
the conception2 the execution was crude 
and abortive4 ,his writings are a       
greater acquisition to the art than his 
paintings4 ,the powers of conversation  
were what he most excelled in2 and the  
influence which he exercised in this way
 over all companies where he came1 in   
spite of the coarseness of his dress1   
and the frequent rudeness of his manner1
 was great4 ,take him for all in all1 he
 was a man of whose memory it is        
impossible to think without admiration  

as well as regret4                      
,,originality   ,originality is any     
conception of things1 taken immediately 
from nature1 and neither borrowed from1 
nor common to1 others4 ,to deserve this 
appellation1 the copy must be both true 
and new4 ,but herein lies the difficulty
 of reconciling a seeming contradiction 
in the terms of the explanation4 ,for as
 any thing to be natural must be        
referable to a consistent principle1 and
 as the face of things is open and      
familiar to all1 how can any imitation  
be new and striking1 without being      
liable to the charge of extravagance1   
distortion1 and singularity8 ,and1 on   
the other hand1 if it has no such       
peculiar and distinguishing             
characteristic to set it off1 it cannot 
possibly rise above the level of the    
trite and common-place4 ,this objection 
would indeed hold good and be           
unanswerable1 if nature were one thing1 
or if the eye or mind comprehended the  
whole of it at a single glance2 in which

 case1 if an object had been once seen  
and copied in the most cursory and      
mechanical way1 there could be no       
farther addition to1 or variation from1 
this idea1 without obliquity and        
affectation2 but nature presents an     
endless variety of aspects1 of which the
 mind seldom takes in more than a part  
or than one view at a time2 and it is in
 seizing on this unexplored variety1 and
 giving some one of these new but easily
 recognised features1 in its            
characteristic essence1 and according to
 the peculiar bent and force of the     
artist's genius1 that true originality  
consists4 ,,romney1 when he was first   
introduced into ,sir ,,joshua',s        
gallery1 said1 #8there was something in 
his portraits which had been never seen 
in the art before1 but which every one  
must be struck with as true and natural 
the moment he saw it4' ,this could not  
happen if the human face did not admit  
of being contemplated in several points 
of view1 or if the hand were necessarily

 faithful to the suggestions of sense4  
,two things serve to perplex this       
question2 first1 the construction of    
language1 from which1 as one object is  
represented by one word1 we imagine that
 it is one thing1 and that we can no    
more conceive differently of the same   
object than we can pronounce the same   
word in different ways1 without being   
wrong in all but one of them2 secondly1 
the very nature of our individual       
impressions puts a deception upon us2   
for1 as we know no more of any given    
object than we see1 we very pardonably  
conclude that we see the whole of it1   
and have exhausted inquiry at the first 
view1 since we can never suspect the    
existence of that which1 from our       
ignorance and incapacity1 gives us no   
intimation of itself4 ,thus1 if we are  
shown an exact likeness of a face1 we   
give the artist credit chiefly for      
dexterity of hand2 we think that any one
 who has eyes can see a face2 that one  
person sees it just like another1 that  

there can be no mistake about it 7as the
 object and the image are in our notion 
the same7--and that if there is any     
departure from our version of it1 it    
must be purely fantastical and          
arbitrary4 ,multum abludit imago4 ,we do
 not look beyond the surface2 or rather 
we do not see into the surface1 which   
contains a labyrinth of difficulties and
 distinctions1 that not all the effects 
of art1 of time1 patience1 and study1   
can master and unfold4 ,but let us take 
this self-evident proposition1 the human
 face1 and examine it a little2 and we  
shall soon be convinced what a ,proteus1
 what an inexplicable riddle it is6 ,ask
 any one who thinks he has a perfect    
idea of the face of his friend1 what the
 shape of his nose or any other feature 
is1 and he will presently find his      
mistake2--ask a lover to draw his       
#8mistress' eyebrow1' it is not merely  
that his hand will fail him1 but his    
memory is at fault both for the form and
 colour2 he may1 indeed1 dream1 and tell

 you with the poet1 that                
#8,grace is in all her steps1 heaven in 
her eye1              ,in every gesture1
 dignity and love'3--  but if he wishes 
to embody his favourite conceit1 and to 
convince any one else of all this by    
proof positive1 he must borrow the      
painter's aid4 ,when a young artist     
first begins to make a study from a     
head1 it is well known that he has soon 
done1 because after he has got in a     
certain general outline and rude masses1
 as the forehead1 the nose1 the mouth1  
the eyes in a general way1 he sees no   
farther1 and is obliged to stop2 he     
feels in truth that he has made a very  
indifferent copy1 but is quite at a loss
 how to supply the defect--after a few  
months' or a year or two's practice1 if 
he has a real eye for nature and a turn 
for his art1 he can spend whole days in 
working up the smallest details1 in     
correcting the proportions1 in softening
 the gradations2 and does not know when 
to leave off1 till night closes in upon 

him1 and then he sits musing and gazing 
in the twilight at what remains for his 
next day's work4 ,sir ,,joshua          
,,reynolds used to say1 that if he did  
not finish any one of his pictures till 
he saw nothing more to be done to it1 he
 should never leave off4 ,,titian wrote 
on his pictures1 faciebat--as much as to
 say that he was about them1 but that it
 was an endless task4 ,as the mind      
advances in the knowledge of nature1 the
 horizon of art enlarges and the air    
refines4 ,then1 in addition to an       
infinity of details1 even in the most   
common object1 there is the variety of  
form and colour1 of light and shade1 of 
character and expression1 of the        
voluptuous1 the thoughtful1 the grand1  
the graceful1 the grave1 the gay1 the ,i
 know not what2 which are all to be     
found 7separate or combined7 in nature1 
which sufficiently account for the      
diversity of art1 and to detect and     
carry off the spolia opima of any one of
 which is the highest praise of human   

genius and skill--                      
#8,whate'er ,lorrain light-touch'd with 
softening hue1           ,or savage     
,rosa dash'd1 or learned ,poussin drew4'
  ,all that we meet with in the         
master-pieces of taste and genius is to 
be found in the previous capacity of    
nature2 and man1 instead of adding to   
the store1 or creating any thing either 
as to matter or manner1 can only draw   
out a feeble and imperfect transcript1  
bit by bit1 and one appearance after    
another1 according to the peculiar      
aptitude and affinity that subsists     
between his mind and some one part4 ,the
 mind resembles a prism1 which untwists 
the various rays of truth1 and displays 
them by different modes and in several  
parcels4 ,enough has been said to       
vindicate both conditions of            
originality1 which distinguish it from  
singularity on the one hand and from    
vulgarity on the other2 or to show how a
 thing may at the same time be both true
 and new4 ,this novel truth is brought  

out when it meets with a strong         
congenial mind--that is1 with a mind in 
the highest degree susceptible of a     
certain class of impressions1 or of a   
certain kind of beauty or power2 and    
this peculiar strength1 congeniality1   
truth of imagination1 or command over a 
certain part of nature1 is1 in other    
words1 what is meant by genius4 ,this   
will serve to show why original         
inventors have in general 7and except in
 what is mechanical71 left so little for
 their followers to improve upon2 for as
 the original invention implies the     
utmost stretch and felicity of thought1 
or the greatest strength and sagacity to
 discover and dig the ore from the mine 
of truth1 so it is hardly to be expected
 that a greater degree of capacity      
should ever arise 7than the highest71   
that a greater mastery should be        
afterwards obtained in shaping and      
fashioning the precious materials1 than 
in the first heat and eagerness of      
discovery2 or that1 if the capacity were

 equal1 the same scope and opportunity  
would be left for its exercise in the   
same field4 ,if the genius were         
different1 it would then seek different 
objects and a different vent1 and open  
new paths to fame and excellence1       
instead of treading in old ones4 ,hence 
the well-known observation1 that in each
 particular style or class of art1 the  
greatest works of genius are the        
earliest4 ,hence1 also1 the first       
productions of men of genius are often  
their best4 ,what was that something    
that ,,romney spoke of in ,,reynolds',s 
pictures that the world had never seen  
before1 but with which they were        
enchanted the moment they beheld it1 and
 which both ,,hoppner and ,,jackson1    
with all their merit1 have but faintly  
imitated since8 ,it was a reflection of 
the artist's mind--an emanation from his
 character1 transferred to the canvass4 
,it was an ease1 an amenity1 an indolent
 but anxious satisfaction1 a graceful   
playfulness1 belonging to his           

disposition1 and spreading its charm on 
all around it1 attracting what          
harmonized with1 and softening and      
moulding what repelled it1 avoiding     
every thing hard1 stiff1 and formal1    
shrinking from details1 reposing on     
effect1 imparting motion to still life1 
viewing all things in their #8gayest1   
happiest attitudes1' and infusing his   
own spirit into nature as the leaven is 
kneaded into the dough2 but1 though the 
original bias existed in himself1 and   
was thence stamped upon his works1 yet  
the character could neither have been   
formed without the constant recurrence  
and pursuit of proper nourishment1 nor  
could it have expressed itself without a
 reference to those objects1 looks1 and 
attitudes in nature1 which soothed and  
assimilated with it4 ,what made         
,,hogarth original and inimitable1 but  
the wonderful redundance1 and1 as it    
were1 supererogation of his genius1     
which poured the oil of humanity into   
the wounds and bruises of human nature1 

redeemed1 while it exposed1 vice and    
folly1 made deformity pleasing1 and     
turned misfortune into a jest8 ,but     
could he have done so if there were no  
enjoyment or wit in a night-cellar1 or  
if the cripple could not dance and sing8
 ,no1 the moral was in nature2 but let  
no one dare to insist upon it after him1
 in the same language and with the same 
pretensions6 ,there was ,,rembrandt--did
 he invent the extremes of light and    
shade1 or was he only the first that    
embodied them8 ,he was so only because  
his eye drank in light and shade more   
deeply than any one before or since2    
and1 therefore1 the sunshine hung in    
liquid drops from his pencil1 and the   
dungeon's gloom hovered over his        
canvass4 ,who can think of ,,correggio  
without a swimming of the head--the     
undulating line1 the melting grace1 the 
objects advancing and retiring as in a  
measured dance or solemn harmony6 ,but  
all this fulness1 roundness1 and        
delicacy1 existed before in nature1 and 

only found a fit sanctuary in his mind4 
,the breadth and masses of ,,michael    
,,angelo were studies from nature1 which
 he selected and cast in the mould of   
his own manly and comprehensive genius4 
,the landscapes of ,,claude are in a    
fixed repose1 as if nothing could be    
moved from its place without a violence 
to harmony and just proportion3 in those
 of ,,rubens every thing is fluttering  
and in motion1 light and indifferent1 as
 the winds blow where they list4 ,all   
this is characteristic1 original1 a     
different mode of nature1 which the     
artist had the happiness to find out and
 carry to the utmost point of           
perfection4 ,it has been laid down that 
no one paints any thing but his own     
character1 and almost features2 and the 
workman is always to be traced in the   
work4 ,mr4 ,,fuseli',s figures1 if they 
were like nothing else1 were like       
himself1 or resembled the contortions of
 a dream2 ,,wilkie',s have a parochial  
air2 ,,haydon',s are heroical2 ,sir     

,,thomas',s genteel4 ,what ,englishman  
could bear to sit to a ,french artist8  
,what ,english artist could hope to     
succeed in a ,french coquet8 ,there is  
not only an individual but a national   
bias1 which is observable in the        
different schools and productions of    
art4 ,mannerism is the bane 7though it  
is the occasional vice7 of genius1 and  
is the worst kind of imitation1 for it  
is a man's imitating himself4 ,many     
artists go on repeating and caricaturing
 themselves1 till they complain that    
nature puts them out4 ,gross plagiarism 
may consist with great originality4     
,,sterne was a notorious plagiarist1 but
 a true genius4 ,his ,corporal ,trim1   
his ,uncle ,toby1 and ,mr4 ,shandy1 are 
to be found no where else4 ,if ,,raphael
 had done nothing but borrow the two    
figures from ,,masaccio1 it would have  
been impossible to say a word in his    
defence3 no one has a right to steal1   
who is not rich enough to be robbed by  
others4 ,so ,,milton has borrowed more  

than almost any other writer2 but he has
 uniformly stamped a character of his   
own upon it4 ,in what relates to the    
immediate imitation of nature1 people   
find it difficult to conceive of an     
opening for originality1 inasmuch as    
they think that they themselves see the 
whole of nature1 and that every other   
view of it is wrong3--in what relates to
 the productions of imagination or the  
discoveries of science1 as they         
themselves are totally in the dark1 they
 fancy the whole to be a fabrication1   
and give the inventor credit for a sort 
of dealing with the ,devil1 or some     
preternatural kind of talent4 ,poets lay
 a popular and prescriptive claim to    
inspiration3 the astronomer of old was  
thought able to conjure with the stars2 
and the skilful leech1 who performed    
unexpected cures was condemned for a    
sorcerer4 ,this is as great an error the
 other way4 ,the vulgar think there is  
nothing in what lies on the surface2    
though the learned only see beyond it by

 stripping off incumbrances and coming  
to another surface beneath the first4   
,the difference between art and science 
is only the difference between the      
clothed and naked figure3 but the veil  
of truth must be drawn aside before we  
can distinctly see the face4 ,the       
physician is qualified to prescribe     
remedies because he is acquainted with  
the internal structure of the body1 and 
has studied the symptoms of disorders3  
the mathematician arrives at his most   
surprising conclusions by slow and sure 
steps2 and where he can add discovery to
 discovery by the very certainty of the 
hold he has of all the previous links4  
,there is no witchcraft in either case4 
,the invention of the poet is little    
more than the fertility of a teeming    
brain--that is1 than the number and     
quantity of associations present to his 
mind1 and the various shapes in which he
 can turn them without being distracted 
or losing a #8semblable coherence' of   
the parts2 as the man of observation and

 reflection strikes out just and        
unforeseen remarks by taking off the    
mask of custom and appearances2 or by   
judging for himself of men and things1  
without taking it for granted that they 
are what he has hitherto supposed them1 
or waiting to be told by others what    
they are4 ,if there were no foundation  
for an unusual remark in our own        
consciousness or experience1 it would   
not strike us as a discovery3 it would  
sound like a jeu-d'esprit1 a whim or    
oddity1 or as flat nonsense4 ,the mere  
mob1 #8the great vulgar and the small1' 
are not therefore capable of            
distinguishing between originality and  
singularity1 for they have no idea      
beyond the commonplace of fashion or    
custom4 ,prejudice has no ears either   
for or against itself2 it is alike      
averse to objections and proofs1 for    
both equally disturb its blind implicit 
notions of things4 ,originality is1     
then1 #8the strong conception' of truth 
and nature #8that the mind groans       

withal1' and of which it cannot stay to 
be delivered by authority or example4   
,it is feeling the ground sufficiently  
firm under one's feet to be able to go  
alone4 ,truth is its essence2 it is the 
strongest possible feeling of truth2 for
 it is a secret and instinctive yearning
 after1 and approximation towards it1   
before it is acknowledged by others1 and
 almost before the mind itself knows    
what it is4 ,paradox and eccentricity1  
on the other hand1 show a dearth of     
originality1 as bombast and hyperbole   
show a dearth of imagination2 they are  
the desperate resources of affectation  
and want of power4 ,originality is      
necessary to genius2 for when that      
which1 in the first instance1 conferred 
the character1 is afterwards done by    
rule and routine1 it ceases to be       
genius4 ,to conclude1 the value of any  
work of art or science depends chiefly  
on the quantity of originality contained
 in it1 and which constitutes either the
 charm of works of fiction or the       

improvement to be derived from those of 
progressive information4 ,but it is not 
so in matters of opinion1 where every   
individual thinks he can judge for      
himself1 and does not wish to be set    
right4 ,there is1 consequently1 nothing 
that the world like better than         
originality of invention1 and nothing   
that they hate worse than originality of
 thought4 ,advances in science were     
formerly regarded with like jealousy1   
and stigmatised as dangerous by the     
friends of religion and the state3      
,,galileo was imprisoned in the same    
town of ,florence1 where they now       
preserve his finger pointing to the     
skies6                                  
,,the ,,ideal   ,the ideal is the       
abstraction of any thing from all the   
circumstances that weaken its effect1 or
 lessen our admiration of it4 ,or it is 
filling up the outline of truth or      
beauty existing in the mind1 so as to   
leave nothing wanting or to desire      
farther4 ,the principle of the ideal is 

the satisfaction we have in the         
contemplation of any quality or object1 
which makes us seek to heighten1 to     
prolong1 or extend that satisfaction to 
the utmost2 and beyond this we cannot   
go1 for we cannot get beyond the highest
 conceivable degree of any quality or   
excellence diffused over the whole of an
 object4 ,any notion of perfection      
beyond is is a word without meaning--a  
thing in the clouds4 ,another name for  
the ideal is the divine2 for1 what we   
imagine of the ,gods is pleasure without
 pain--power without effort4 ,the ideal 
is the impassive and immortal3 it is    
that which exists in and for itself2 or 
is begot by the intense idea and innate 
love of it4 ,hence it has been argued by
 some1 as if it were brought from       
another sphere1 as ,,raphael was said to
 have fetched his ,galatea from the     
skies2 but it was the ,gods1 #8the      
children of ,,homer1' who peopled #8the 
cloud-capt ,olympus4' ,the statue of    
,venus was not beautiful because it     

represented a goddess2 but it was       
supposed to represent a goddess1 because
 it was in the highest degree 7that the 
art or wit of man could make it so7 and 
in every part beautiful4 ,goddesses also
 walk the earth in the shape of women2  
the height of nature surpasses the      
utmost stretch of the imagination2 the  
human form is alone the image of the    
divinity4 ,it has been usual to         
represent the ideal as an abstraction of
 general nature1 or as a mean or average
 proportion between different qualities 
and faculties1 which1 instead of        
carrying any one to the highest point of
 perfection or satisfaction1 would only 
neutralise and damp the impression4 ,we 
take our notions on this subject chiefly
 from the antique2 but what higher      
conception do we form of the ,jupiter of
 ,,phidias than that of power frowning  
in awful majesty8 or of the ,minerva of 
the same hand1 than that of wisdom1     
#8severe in youthful beauty8' ,we shall 
do well not to refine in our theories   

beyond these examples1 that have been   
left us--                               
#8,inimitable on earth by model1        
,or by shading pencil shown4'  ,what is 
the ,venus1 the ,apollo1 the ,hercules1 
but the personification of beauty1      
grace1 and strength1 or the displaying  
these several properties in every part  
of the attitude1 face1 and figure1 and  
in the utmost conceivable degree1 but   
without confounding the particular kinds
 of form or expression in an            
intermediate something1 pretended to be 
more perfect than either8 ,a thing is   
not more perfect by becoming something  
else1 but by being more itself4 ,if the 
face of the ,venus had been soft and    
feminine1 but the figure had not        
corresponded1 then this would have been 
a defect of the ideal1 which subdues the
 discordances of ,nature in the mould of
 passion1 and so far from destroying    
character1 imparts the same character to
 all1 according to a certain established
 idea or preconception in the mind4 ,the

 following up the contrary principle    
would lead to the inevitable result1    
that the most perfect1 that is1 the most
 abstract1 representation of the human  
form could contain neither age nor sex1 
neither character nor expression1       
neither the attributes of motion nor    
rest1 but a mere unmeaning negation or  
doubtful balance of all positive        
qualities--in fact1 to propose to embody
 an abstraction is a contradiction in   
terms4 ,the attempt to carry such a     
scheme into execution would not merely  
supersede all the varieties and         
accidents of nature1 but would          
effectually put a stop to the           
productions of art1 or reduce them to   
one vague and undefined abstraction1    
answering to the word man4 ,that        
amalgamation1 then1 of a number of      
different impressions into one1 which in
 some sense is felt to constitute the   
ideal1 is not to be sought in the dry   
and desert spaces or the endless void of
 metaphysical abstraction1 or by taking 

a number of things and muddling them all
 together1 but by singling out some one 
thing or leading quality of an object1  
and making it the pervading and         
regulating principle of all the rest1 so
 as to produce the greatest strength and
 harmony of effect4 ,this is the natural
 progress of things1 and accords with   
the ceaseless tendency of the human mind
 from the ,finite to the ,infinite4 ,if 
,i see beauty1 ,i do not want to change 
it for power2 if ,i am struck with      
power1 ,i am no longer in love with     
beauty2 but ,i wish to make beauty still
 more beautiful1 power still more       
powerful1 and to pamper and exalt the   
prevailing impression1 whatever it be1  
till it ends in a dream and a vision of 
glory4 ,this view of the subject has    
been often dwelt upon3 ,i shall         
endeavour to supply some inferences from
 it4 ,the ideal1 it appears then by this
 account of it1 is the enhancing and    
expanding an idea from the satisfaction 
we take in it2 or it is taking away     

whatever divides1 and adding whatever   
increases our sympathy with pleasure and
 power #8till our content is absolute1' 
or at the height4 ,hence that repose    
which has been remarked as one striking 
condition of the ideal2 for as it is    
nothing but the continued approximation 
of the mind to the great and the good1  
so in the attainment of this object it  
rejects as much as possible not only the
 petty1 the mean1 and disagreeable1 but 
also the agony and violence of passion1 
the force of contrast1 and the          
extravagance of imagination4 ,it is a   
law to itself4 ,it relies on its own    
aspirations after pure enjoyment and    
lofty contemplation alone1 self-moved   
and self-sustained1 without the grosser 
stimulus of the irritation of the will1 
privation1 or suffering--unless when it 
is inured and reconciled to the last 7as
 an element of its being7 by heroic     
fortitude1 and when #8strong patience   
conquers deep despair4' ,in this sense1 
,,milton's ,satan is ideal1 though      

tragic3 for it is permanent tragedy1 or 
one fixed idea without vicissitude or   
frailty1 and where all the pride of     
intellect and power is brought to bear  
in confronting and enduring pain4 ,mr4  
,,wordsworth has expressed this feeling 
of stoical indifference 7proof against  
outward impressions7 admirably in the   
poem of ,laodamia3--                    
#8,know1 virtue were not virtue1 if the 
joys              ,of sense were able to
 return as fast              ,and surely
 as they vanish4 ,earth destroys        
,those raptures duly3 ,erebus disdains--
              ,calm pleasures there     
abide1 majestic pains4'  ,these lines   
are a noble description and example of  
the ideal in poetry4 ,but the ideal is  
not in general the stronghold of poetry4
 ,for description in words 7to produce  
any vivid impression7 requires a        
translation of the object into some     
other form1 which is the language of    
metaphor and imagination2 as narrative  
can only interest by a succession of    

events and a conflict of hopes and      
fears4 ,therefore1 the sphere of the    
ideal is in a manner limited to         
,sculpture and ,painting1 where the     
object itself is given entire without   
any possible change of circumstances1   
and where1 though the impression is     
momentary1 it lasts for ever4 ,hence we 
may see the failure in ,sir ,charles    
,grandison1 which is an attempt to      
embody this perfect or ideal character  
in a succession of actions without      
passion1 and in a variety of situations 
where he is still the same everlasting  
coxcomb1 and where we are tired to death
 of the monotony1 affectation1 and      
self-conceit4 ,the story of #8,patient  
,grizzle1' however fine the sentiment1  
is far from dramatic3 for the ideal     
character1 which is the self-sufficient1
 the immovable1 and the one1 precludes  
change1 or at least all motive for1 or  
interest in1 the alternation of events1 
to which it constantly rises superior4  
,,shakspeare',s characters are          

interesting and dramatic1 in proportion 
as they are not above passion and       
outward circumstances1 that is1 as they 
are men and not angels4 ,the ,greek     
tragedies may serve to explain how far  
the ideal and the dramatic are          
consistent2 for the characters there are
 almost as ideal as their statues1 and  
almost as impassive2 and perhaps their  
extreme decorum and self-possession is  
only rendered palatable to us by the    
story which nearly always represents a  
conflict between ,gods and men4 ,the    
ideal part is1 however1 necessary at all
 times to the grandeur of tragedy1 since
 it is the superiority of character to  
fortune and circumstances1 or the larger
 scope of thought and feeling thrown    
into it1 that redeems it from the charge
 of vulgar grossness or physical        
horrors4 ,mrs4 ,,siddons',s acting had  
this character2 that is to say1 she kept
 her state in the midst of the tempest  
of passion1 and her eye surveyed1 not   
merely the present suffering1 but the   

causes and consequences2 there was      
inherent power and dignity of manner4   
,in a word1 as there is a sanguine      
temperament1 and a health of body and   
mind which floats us over daily         
annoyances and hindrances 7instead of   
fastening upon petty and disagreeable   
details71 and turns every thing to      
advantage1 so it is in art and works of 
the imagination1 the principle of the   
ideal being neither more nor less than  
that fulness of satisfaction and        
enlargement of comprehension in the mind
 itself that assists and expands all    
that accords with it1 and throws aside  
and triumphs over whatever is adverse4  
,grace in movement is either that which 
is continuous and consistent1 from      
having no obstacles opposed to it1 or   
that which perseveres in this continuous
 and equable movement from a delight in 
it1 in spite of interruption or uneven  
ground2 this last is the ideal1 or a    
persisting in1 and giving effect to1 our
 choice of the good1 notwithstanding the

 unfavourableness of the actual or      
outward circumstances4 ,we may in like  
manner trace the origin of dancing1     
music1 and poetry1 which is the march of
 words4 ,self-possession is the ideal in
 ordinary behaviour4 ,a low or vulgar   
character seizes on every trifling or   
painful circumstance that occurs1 from  
irritability and want of imagination to 
look beyond the moment2 while a person  
of more refinement and capacity1 or with
 a stronger predisposition of the mind  
to good1 and a greater fund of good     
sense and pleasurable feeling to second 
it1 despises these idle provocations1   
and preserves an unruffled composure and
 serenity of temper4 ,this internal     
character1 being permanent1 communicates
 itself to the outward expression in    
proportionable sweetness1 delicacy1 and 
unity of effect1 which it requires all  
the same characteristics of the mind to 
feel and convey to others2 and hence the
 superiority of ,,raphael',s ,madonnas  
over ,,hogarth',s faces4 ,keeping is not

 the ideal1 for there may be keeping in 
the little1 the mean1 and the           
disjointed1 without strength1 softness  
or expansion4 ,the ,fauns and ,satyrs of
 antiquity belong 7like other fabulous  
creations7 rather to the grotesque than 
the ideal4 ,they may be considered1     
however1 as a bastard species of the    
ideal1 for they stamp one prominent     
character of vice and deformity on the  
whole face1 instead of going into the   
minute1 uncertain1 and shuffling        
details4 ,as to the rest1 the ideal     
abhors monsters and incongruity4 ,if the
 horses in the ,elgin marbles1 or the   
boar of ,,meleager1 are ranked with the 
human figures1 it is from their being   
perfect representations of the forms and
 actions of the animals designed1 not   
caricatures half-way between the human  
and the brute4  ,the ideal1 then1 is the
 highest point of purity and perfection 
to which we can carry the idea of any   
object or quality4 ,the natural differs 
from the ideal style1 inasmuch as what  

anything is differs from what we wish   
and can conceive it to be4 ,many people 
would substitute the phrase1 from what  
it ought to be1 to express the latter   
part of the alternative1 and would      
explain what a thing ought to be by that
 which is best4 ,but for myself1 ,i do  
not understand1 or at least it does not 
appear to me1 a self-evident            
proposition1 either what a thing ought  
to be1 or what it is best that it should
 be2 it is only shifting the difficulty 
a remove farther1 and begging the       
question a second time4 ,i may know what
 is good2 ,i can tell what is better3   
but that which is best is beyond me--it 
is a thing in the clouds4 ,there is     
perhaps also a species of cant--the     
making up for a want of clearness of    
ideas by insinuating a pleasing moral   
inference--in the words purity and      
perfection used above2 but ,i would be  
understood as meaning by purity nothing 
more than a freedom from alloy or any   
incongruous mixture in a given quality  

or character of an object1 and by       
perfection completeness1 or the         
extending that quality to all the parts 
and circumstances of an object1 so that 
it shall be as nearly as possible of a  
piece4 ,the imagination does not        
ordinarily bestow any pains on that     
which is mean and indifferent in itself1
 but having conceived an interest in any
 thing1 and the passions being once     
excited1 we endeavour to give them food 
and scope by making that which is       
beautiful still more beautiful1 that    
which is striking still more grand1 that
 which is hateful still more deformed1  
through the positive1 comparative1 and  
superlative degrees1 till the mind can  
go no farther in this progression of    
fancy and passion without losing the    
original idea1 or quitting its hold of  
nature1 which is the ground on which it 
still rests with fluttering pinions4    
,the ideal does not transform any object
 into something else1 or neutralize its 
character1 but1 by removing what is     

irrelevant and supplying what was       
defective1 makes it more itself than it 
was before4 ,i have included above the  
,fauns and ,satyrs1 as well as the      
,heroes and ,deities of antique art1 or 
the perfection of deformity as well as  
of beauty and strength1 but any one who 
pleases may draw the line1 and leave out
 the exceptionable part2 it will make no
 difference in the principle4  ,venus is
 painted fair1 with golden locks1 but   
she must not be fair beyond the fairness
 of woman--for the beauty we desire is  
that of woman--nor must the hair be     
actually of the colour of gold1 but only
 approaching to it1 for then it would no
 longer look like hair1 but like        
something else1 and in striving to      
enhance the effect we should weaken it4 
,habit1 as well as passion1 knowledge as
 well as desire1 is one part of the     
human mind2 nor1 in aiming at imaginary 
perfection1 are we to confound the      
understood boundaries and distinct      
classes of things1 or #8to o'erstep the 

modesty of nature4' ,we may rise the    
superstructure of fancy as high as we   
please2 the basis is custom4 ,we talk in
 words of an ivory skin1 of golden      
tresses2 but these are but figures of   
speech1 and a poetical licence4         
,richardson acknowledges that           
,clarissa's neck was not so white as the
 lace on it1 whatever the poets might   
say if they had been called upon to     
describe it4                            
,,royal ,,academy   ,the choice of a    
,president for this ,society is one of  
some nicety4 ,where there is not any    
individual taking a decided and         
indisputable lead in art1 it requires a 
combination and balance of qualities not
 always easily to be met with4 ,the     
,president of the great body of art in  
this country ought not merely to be     
eminent in his profession1 but a man of 
gentlemanly manners1 of good person1 of 
respectable character1 and standing well
 in the opinion of his brother artists4 
,he should be a person free from        

peculiarity of temper1 from party       
spirit1 and able to represent the       
elegant arts 7of which he stands at the 
head7 as the last ostensible link       
connecting scientific pursuit with the  
enlightened taste and aristocratic      
refinements of their immediate patrons4 
,the choice has fallen upon ,mr4 ,,shee1
 and his honours will sit well upon him4
 ,this artist has been long a favourite 
with the public in the most popular     
branch of his art1 and is scarcely less 
distinguished by his occasional         
brilliant effusions as a poet and his   
accomplishments as a man4 ,the          
characteristics of ,mr4 ,,shee',s style 
of portrait painting are vivacity of    
expression1 facility of execution1 and  
clearness of colouring4 ,he has         
attempted history with some success4    
,perhaps if he had done more in this    
way1 it might have been to his own      
detriment2 and the habits and studies of
 the historical painter1 immersed in a  
world of retirement and abstraction1 are

 such as hardly serve for an            
introduction to situations of ornament  
and distinction in social life4 ,mr4    
,,wilkie',s merits as a painter of      
familiar subjects have procured him the 
deserved honour of being appointed      
#8historical painter to the ,king'--the 
admirable busts of ,mr4 ,,chantrey might
 also have been thrown into the opposite
 scale2 but1 upon the whole1 the        
judgment of the public will not take the
 laurel from the head where the hands of
 the ,academy have placed it4 ,if we    
might hint a fault where so much praise 
is due1 it would be by expressing a wish
 that ,mr4 ,,shee could more boldly say 
with ,rembrandt1 #8,je suis peintre1 non
 pas teinturier4' ,his tones are too    
pure1 approaching too nearly to virgin  
tints4 ,for one department of his office
 the new ,president is happily          
qualified--we mean the delivery of      
lectures from the ,chair of the ,royal  
,academy4 ,the art of painting is dumb  
but ,mr4 ,,shee can borrow the aid of a 

sister muse4  -----  ,footnote #ab3     
,one would think that a people so       
devoted to perfumes1 who deal in        
essences and scents1 and have fifty     
different sorts of snuffs1 would   be   
equally nice1 and offended at the       
approach of every disagreeable   odour4 
,not so4 ,they seem to have no sense of 
the disagreeable in   smells or tastes1 
as if their heads were stuffed with a   
cold1 and hang   over a dunghill1 as if 
it were a bed of roses1 or swallow the  
most   detestable dishes with the       
greatest relish4 ,the nerve of their    
sensibility is bound up at the point of 
pain4 ,a ,frenchman 7as far as ,i   can 
find7 has no idea answering to the word 
nasty2 or if he has1   feels a          
predilection for1 instead of an aversion
 to1 it4 ,so in morals   they bid fair  
to be the ,sybarites of the modern      
world4 ,they make the   best of every   
thing 7which is a virtue7--and treat the
 worst with   levity or complaisance    
7which is a vice74 ,they harbour no     

antipathies4   ,they would swallow ,gil 
,blas's supper as a luxury1 and boast of
 it   afterwards as a feat4 ,their moral
 system is not sustained by the two     
opposite principles of attraction and   
repulsion1 for they are shocked   at    
nothing3 what excites horror or disgust 
in other minds1 they   consider as a    
bagatelle2 it is resolved into an       
abstraction of   agreeable sensations1 a
 source of amusement4 ,there is an oil  
of   self-complacency in their          
constitutions1 which takes the sting out
 of   evil1 and neutralizes the poison  
of corruption4 ,they1 therefore1 can    
commit atrocities with impunity1 and    
wallow in disgrace without a   blush1 as
 no other people can4 ,there is         
,monsieur ,chateaubriand1 for           
instance4 ,who would not suppose that   
the very echo of his own name   would   
hoot him out of the world8 ,so far from 
it1 his pamphlet ,on the   ,censorship  
has just come to a third edition1 and is
 stuck all over   ,paris6  ,footnote    

#ac3    ,this is not correct2 there is  
no foot-path in ,france1 but there is a 
side-path1 claiming1 ,i presume1 the    
same privileges4  ,footnote #ad3        
#8,there is nothing which an ,englishman
 enjoys so much as the pleasure   of    
sulkiness4'--,edinburgh ,review1 ,no4   
#hj4  ,footnote #ae3    ,we may trace   
something of their national origin in   
both their minds4   ,in ,claude there is
 the ,french finicalness1 and love of   
minute   details2 but there is a fusion 
of all these into the most perfect      
harmony from the influence of a southern
 sky1 and he has none of the            
flimsiness or littleness of effect1 to  
which his countrymen are prone4         
,again1 it cannot be denied that there  
is a certain setness and   formality1 a 
didactic or prosing vein in ,nicolas    
,poussin's   compositions4 ,he proceeds 
on system1 has a deliberate purpose to  
make   out1 and is often laboured1      
monotonous1 and extravagant4 ,his       
pictures   are the finest subjects in   

the world for ,french criticism--to     
point the   moral1 or detach an episode4
 ,he is somewhat pedantic and           
over-significant1 in the manner of      
,french orators and poets4 ,he had1     
like his countrymen1 no great eye for   
nature or truth of expression2   but he 
had what they chiefly want--imagination1
 or the power of   placing himself in   
the circumstances of others4 ,poussin1  
in fact1 held   a middle place between  
,raphael and other painters of the      
,italian   school1 who have embodied the
 highest poetry of expression1 and the  
common run of ,french artists1 whose    
utmost stretch of invention   reaches no
 farther than correctness in the costume
 and chronology of   their subject4     
,footnote #af3    ,it is at ,florence4  
,footnote #ag3    ,is not a monkey grave
 when it is doing nothing1 or when it is
 not   employed in mischief8  ,footnote 
#ah3    ,the ,french phrase for being   
present at a play is1 to assist at it4  
,it must be owned that there is some    

appearance of truth in the   expression4
  ,footnote #ai3    ,inventor of the    
,diorama4  ,footnote #bj3    ,it is the 
same idle1 inveterate self-complacency1 
the same limited   comprehension1 that  
has been their ruin in every thing4     
,parisian   exquisites could not        
conceive that it snowed in ,russia1 nor 
how it   was possible for barbarians to 
bivouac in the ,champs ,elyses4 ,but    
they have forgotten the circumstance    
altogether4 ,why should ,i remind   them
 of it8  ,footnote #ba3    ,french      
pictures1 to be thoroughly and          
unexceptionably good1 ought to   be     
translated back again into sculpture1   
from which they are   originally taken4 
,footnote #bb3    ,yet they tax         
,shakspeare with grossness and          
barbarity4 ,there is nothing   like this
 scene in all his plays1 except ,titus  
,andronicus1 which is   full of the same
 tragic exaggeration and tautology4 ,i  
was walking out   7this #ast of         
,october--a clear grey autumnal morning7

 in the gardens of   the ,tuileries1 and
 seeing the long1 tall avenue of trees  
before me   that leads up to the barrier
 of ,neuilly1 it put me in mind of      
former   times1 of prints and pictures  
of the scenery and roads in foreign     
countries which ,i had been used to from
 a child1 with the   old-fashioned look 
of every thing around ,paris1 as if it  
were the year   #agbd1 instead of #ahbd1
 till the view before me seemed to      
become part   of a dream1 or to         
transport me into past time1 or to raise
 itself up   in my imagination1 like a  
picture in the #8,pilgrim's ,progress4' 
,i   wondered whether ,buonaparte       
sometimes thought of this view when he  
was   at ,st4 ,helena4 ,i checked myself
 in this strain of speculation as       
overcharged and disproportioned to the  
occasion1 according to the   correct and
 elegant taste of the people where ,i   
was1 when on a post   opposite1 ,i saw  
stuck up in large letters1 #8,pension de
 l',univers1'   meaning a tenpenny      

ordinary4 ,these are the people that are
 continually   crying out against the   
extravagance and bombast of their       
neighbours4   ,their imagination runs to
 the ends of the universe1 when it has  
nothing but words to carry--no people so
 magnificent1 so prodigal of            
professions1 so hyperbolical as         
they--add but meaning or a weight of    
feeling to them1 and they complain      
bitterly of the load1 and throw it   off
 as barbarous1 intolerable1 ,gothic1 and
 uncouth4 ,it is not the   extravagance 
of the style1 then1 with which they     
quarrel1 but the   palpableness of the  
imagery which gives a blow to their     
slender   intellectual stamina1 or the  
accumulation of feeling about it with   
which they have not firmness or         
comprehension to grapple4 #8,dip it in  
the ocean1 and it will stand'--says     
,sterne's barber of the buckle of   his 
wig4 ,they magnify trifles1 con amore2  
it is only when a poor   struggling     
attempt is to be made to gain relief    

from the #8perilous   stuff that weighs 
upon the heart1' or to embody the       
swelling   conceptions of the soul in   
remote and lofty images1 that they      
shrink   back with the timidity of women
 and the formality of pedants4          
,footnote #bc3    ,the ,orpheus and     
,eurydice of ,drlling is a performance  
of great   merit4 ,the females1 floating
 in the air before ,orpheus1 are pale as
   lilies1 and beautiful in death4 ,but 
he need hardly despair1 or run   wild as
 he does4 ,he may easily overtake them2 
and as to vanishing1   they have no     
appearance of it4 ,their figures are    
quite solid and   determined in their   
outline4  ,footnote #bd3    ,see the    
admirably-drawn1 but painful scene in   
,evelina between ,captain   ,mervin and 
,monsieur ,dubois4  ,footnote #be3    ,a
 ,french dwarf1 exhibited in ,london    
some years ago1 and who had the         
misfortune to be born a mere trunk1 grew
 enraged at the mention of   another    
dwarf as a rival in bodily imperfection1

 and after insisting   that the other   
had both hands and feet1 exclaimed      
emphatically1 #8,mais   moi1 je suis    
unique4' ,my old acquaintance 7,dr4     
,stoddart7 used formerly   to recount   
this trait of ,french character very    
triumphantly1 but then   it was in      
war-time4 ,he may think it indecent to  
have here hinted any   such thing of an 
individual of a nation with whom we are 
at peace4 ,at   present1 he seems to    
have become a sort of portent and       
by-word himself   among ,english        
politicians2 and without head or heart  
may   exclaim--#8,mais moi1 je suis     
unique6#8--,see his late articles on the
   ,spanish ,refugees1 c4 ,would such a 
man have been any better1 had he   never
 turned renegade1 or had he become 7his 
first ambition7 a   revolutionary       
leader8 ,would he not have been as      
blood-thirsty1 as   bigoted1 as perverse
 and ridiculous on the side of the      
question he   left1 as on the one he has
 come over to8 ,it imports little what  

men   are1 so long as they are          
themselves4 ,the great misfortune of a  
certain class of persons 7both for their
 own sake and that of others7   is ever 
to have been born or heard of6          
,footnote #bf3    ,i remember being once
 much amused with meeting1 in a hot     
dusty day1   between ,blenheim and      
,oxford1 some strolling ,italians with a
 troop of   dancing dogs1 and a monkey  
in costume mounted on the back of one of
   them4 ,he rode en cavalier1 and kept 
his countenance with great   gravity and
 decorum1 and turned round with a       
certain look of surprise   and          
resentment1 that ,i1 a foot-passenger1  
should seem to question his   right to  
go on horseback4 ,this seemed to me a   
fine piece of practical   satire in the 
manner of ,swift4  ,footnote #bg3       
,mr4 ,wordsworth1 in some fine lines1   
reproaches the ,french with having      
#8no single volume paramount1 no        
master-spirit'--                        
#8,but equally a want of books and men4'

    ,i wish he would shew any single    
author that exercises such a            
#8paramount' influence over the minds of
 the ,english1 as four or five          
#8master-spirits' do on those of the    
,french4 ,the merit is not here the     
question1 but the effect produced4 ,he  
himself is not a very striking   example
 of the sanguine enthusiasm with which  
his countrymen identify   themselves    
with works of great and original genius6
  ,footnote #bh3    ,the same           
circumstance literally happened to      
,gibbon1 though from a   different      
cause4 ,he fell on his knees before a   
,swiss lady 7,i think a   ,mademoiselle 
d',ivernois17 and was so fat he could   
not rise4 ,she left   him in this       
posture1 and sent in a servant to help  
him up4  ,footnote #bi3    ,the fronts  
of the houses and of many of the finest 
buildings seem 7so   to speak7 to have  
been composed in mud1 and translated    
into stone--so   little projection1     
relief1 or airiness have they4 ,they    

have a look of   being stuck together4  
,footnote #cj3    ,they are as different
 as ,mr4 ,moore's verses and an epic    
poem4  ,footnote #ca3    ,the ,french   
physiognomy is like a telegraphic       
machine1 ready to shift   and form new  
combinations every moment4 ,it is       
commonly too light and   variable for   
repose2 it is careless1 indifferent1 but
 not sunk in   indolence1 nor wedded to 
ease3 as on the other hand1 it is       
restless1   rapid1 extravagant1 without 
depth or force4 ,is it not the same with
   their feelings1 which are alike      
incapable of a habit of quiescence1 or  
of persevering action or passion8 ,it   
seems so to me4 ,their freedom   from   
any tendency to drunkenness1 to indulge 
in its dreamy stupor1 or   give way to  
its incorrigible excesses1 confirms by  
analogy the general   view of their     
character4 ,i do not bring this as an   
accusation against   them1 ,i ask if it 
is not the fact2 and if it will not     
account for many   things observable in 

them1 good1 bad1 and indifferent8 ,in a 
word1   mobility without momentum solves
 the whole riddle of the ,french        
character4  ,footnote #cb3    ,lord     
,byron has merely taken up the common   
cant of connoisseurship1   inflating it 
with hyperbolical and far-fetched       
eulogies of his own--not   perceiving   
that the ,apollo was somewhat of a      
coxcomb1 the ,venus   somewhat insipid1 
and that the expression in the ,laocoon 
is more of   physical than of mental    
agony4 ,the faces of the boys are1      
however1   superlatively fine4 ,they are
 convulsed with pain1 yet fraught with  
feeling4 ,he has made a better hit in   
interpreting the downcast look of   the 
,dying ,gladiator1 as denoting his      
insensibility to the noise and   bustle 
around him3--                 #8,he     
heard it1 but he heeded not--his eyes   
,were with his heart1 and that was far  
away2                ,he reck'd not of  
the life he lost1 nor prize1            
,but where his rude hut by the ,danube  

lay1                ,there were his     
young barbarians all at play1           
,there was their ,dacian mother--he1    
their sire1                ,butcher'd to
 make a ,roman holyday--                
,all this rush'd with his blood--shall  
he expire            ,and               
unaveng'd8--,arise6 ye ,goths and glut  
your ire6'  ,footnote #cc3    ,why do   
the ,french confound the words          
exhibition and exposure8 ,one   of which
 expresses what is creditable1 and the  
other what is   disgraceful4 ,is it that
 the sense of vanity absorbs every other
   consideration1 turning the sense of  
shame1 in case of exposure1 into a      
source of triumph1 and the conscious    
tingling feeling of ostentation   in a  
display of talent into a flagrant       
impropriety8 ,i do not lay much   stress
 on this word-catching1 which is a      
favourite mode of ,german   criticism4  
,we say1 for instance1 indiscriminately1
 that #8a thing   redounds to our credit
 or our disgrace4'  ,footnote #cd3      

,it were to be wished that the ,french  
sculptors would come over and   look at 
the ,elgin ,marbles1 as they are        
arranged with great care and   some pomp
 in the ,british ,museum4 ,they may     
smile to see that we are   willing to   
remove works of art from their original 
places of abode1   though we will not   
allow others to do so4 ,these noble     
fragments of   antiquity might startle  
our fastidious neighbours a little at   
first   from their rude state and their 
simplicity1 but ,i think they would     
gain upon them by degrees1 and convince 
their understandings1 if they   did not 
subdue their affections4 ,they are      
indeed an equally   instructive lesson  
and unanswerable rebuke to them and to  
us--to them   for thinking that         
finishing every part alike is           
perfection1 and to   us who imagine that
 to leave every part alike unfinished is
 grandeur4   ,they are as remote from   
finicalness as grossness1 and combine   
the   parts with the whole in the manner

 that nature does4 ,every part is       
given1 but not ostentatiously1 and only 
as it would appear in the               
circumstances4 ,there is an alternate   
action and repose4 ,if one muscle   is  
strained1 another is proportionably     
relaxed4 ,if one limb is in   action and
 another at rest1 they come under a     
different law1 and the   muscles are not
 brought out nor the skin tightened in  
the one as in   the other4 ,there is a  
flexibility and sway of the limbs and of
 the   whole body4 ,the flesh has the   
softness and texture of flesh1 not the  
smoothness or stiffness of stone4 ,there
 is an undulation and a liquid   flow on
 the surface1 as the breath of genius   
moved the mighty mass3   they are the   
finest forms in the most striking       
attitudes1 and with   every thing in its
 place1 proportion1 and degree1 uniting 
the ease1   truth1 force1 and delicacy  
of ,nature4 ,they shew nothing but the  
artist's thorough comprehension of1 and 
entire docility to that great   teacher4

 ,there is no petit-maitreship1 no      
pedantry1 no attempt at a   display of  
science1 or at forcing the parts into an
 artificial   symmetry1 but it is like  
cutting a human body out of a block of  
marble1 and leaving it to act for itself
 with all the same springs1   levers1   
and internal machinery4 ,it was said of 
,shakspeare's dramas1   that they were  
the logic of passion2 and it may be     
affirmed of the   ,elgin ,marbles1 that 
they are the logic of form4--,one part  
being   given1 another cannot be        
otherwise than it is4 ,there is a mutual
   understanding and re-action          
throughout the whole frame4 ,the ,apollo
 and   other antiques are not equally   
simple and severe4 ,the limbs have too  
much an appearance of being cased in    
marble1 of making a display of   every  
recondite beauty1 and of balancing and  
answering to one another1   like the    
rhymes in verse4 ,the ,elgin ,marbles   
are harmonious1 flowing1   varied prose4
 ,in a word1 they are like casts after  

the finest nature4   ,any cast from     
nature1 however inferior1 is in the same
 style4 ,let the   ,french and ,english 
sculptors make casts continually4 ,the  
one will see   in them the parts        
everywhere given--the other will see    
them everywhere   given in subordination
 to1 and as forming materials for a     
whole4  ,footnote #ce3    ,for some     
account of ,madame ,pasta's acting in   
,nina1 ,i take the   liberty to refer to
 a volume of ,,table-,,talk1 just       
published4  ,footnote #cf3    ,at       
,milan1 a short time ago1 a gentleman   
had a ,homer1 in ,greek and   ,latin1   
among his books4 ,he was surlily asked  
to explain what it meant4   ,upon doing 
so1 the ,inspector shook his head       
doubtingly1 and said1 #8it   might pass 
this time1' but advised him to beware of
 a second4 #8,here1   now1 is a work1'  
he continued1 pointing to ----'s ,lives 
of the ,popes1   containing all the     
abominations 7public and private7 of    
their history1   #8,you should bring    

such books as this with you6' ,this is  
one specimen   of that learned          
conspiracy for the suppression of light 
and letters1   of which we are sleeping 
partners and honorary associates4 ,the  
,allies   complain at present of ,mr4   
,canning's #8faithlessness4' ,oh6 that  
he   would indeed play them false and   
earn his title of #8slippery ,george6'  
,faithful to anything he cannot         
be--faithless to them would be          
something4 ,the ,austrians1 it is said1 
have lately attempted to strike   the   
name of ,italy out of the maps1 that    
that country may neither have   a name1 
a body1 or a soul left to it1 and even  
to suppress the   publication of its    
finest historians1 that it may forget it
 ever had   one4 ,go on1 obliging       
creatures6 ,blot the light out of       
heaven1 tarnish   the blue sky with the 
blight and fog of despotism1 deface and 
trample   on the green earth2 for while 
one trace of what is fair or lovely is  
left in the earth under our feet1 or the

 sky over our heads1 or in the   mind of
 man that is within us1 it will remain  
to mock your impotence   and deformity1 
and to reflect back lasting hatred and  
contempt upon   you4 ,why does not our  
,eton scholar1 our classic ,statesman1  
suggest to   the ,allies an intelligible
 hint of the propriety of inscribing the
   name of ,italy once more on the map1 
#8,like that ensanguined flower         
inscribed with woe'--    of taking off  
the prohibition on the ,histories of    
,guicciardini and   ,davila8 ,or why do 
not the ,english people--the ,english   
,house of ,commons1   suggest it to him8
 ,is there such a thing as the ,english 
people--as an   ,english ,house of      
,commons8 ,their influence is not felt  
at present in   ,europe1 as erst it was1
 to its short-lived hope1 bought with   
flat   despair4 ,the reason is1 the     
cause of the people of ,europe has no   
echo   in the breasts of the ,british   
public4 ,the cause of ,kings had an echo
   in the breast of a ,british          

,monarch--that of ,foreign ,governments 
in the   breasts of ,british ,ministers6
 ,there are at present no fewer than    
fifteen hundred of the ,italian nobility
 of the first families   proscribed from
 their country1 or pining in dungeons4  
,for what8 ,for   trying to give to     
their country independence and a        
,constitutional   ,government1 like     
,england6 ,what says the ,english ,house
 of ,lords to   that8 ,what if the      
,russians were to come and apply to us  
and to them   the benefits and the      
principles of the ,holy ,alliance--the  
bayonet and   the thumbscrew8 ,lord     
,bathurst says1 #8,let them come2'--and 
they will   come when we have a servile 
people1 dead to liberty1 and an         
arbitrary   government1 hating and ready
 to betray it6  ,footnote #cg3    ,why  
have they such quantities of            
looking-glasses in ,italy1 and none in  
,scotland8 ,the dirt in each country is 
equal2 the finery not4 ,neither   in    
,scotland do they call in the aid of the

 ,fine ,arts1 of the   upholsterer and  
tapissier1 to multiply the images of the
 former in   squalid decorations1 and   
thus shew that the debasement is moral  
as   well as physical4 ,they write up on
 certain parts of ,rome #8,immondizia4' 
,a ,florentine asked why it was not     
written on the gates of ,rome8 ,an      
,englishman might be tempted to ask1 why
 it is not written on the gates   of    
,calais1 to serve for the rest of the   
,continent8 ,if the people and   houses 
in ,italy are as dirty or dirtier than  
in ,france1 the streets   and towns are 
kept in infinitely better order4        
,footnote #ch3    ,see ,westminster     
,review4  ,footnote #ci3    ,they tell a
 story in ,paris of a monkey at the     
,jardin des ,plantes1 that   was noted  
for its mischievous tricks and desire to
 fly at every one4   ,dr4 ,gall observed
 the organ of philanthropy particularly 
strong in the   beast1 and desired the  
keeper to let him loose1 when he sprung 
upon   the ,doctor1 and hugged him round

 the neck with the greatest   bon-hommie
 and cordiality1 to the astonishment of 
the keeper and the   triumph of         
craniology6 ,some men are as troublesome
 as some animals   with their           
demonstrations of benevolence4          
,footnote #dj3    ,he was confined in   
the ,inquisition about six weeks1 where 
it is   supposed he was put to the      
torture2 for he had strange pains in his
   limbs1 and bodily disabilities       
afterwards4 ,in the ,museum here is at  
present preserved1 in a glass-case1 a   
finger of ,galileo1 pointing to   the   
skies6 ,such is the history of          
philosophy and superstition4  ,footnote 
#da3    ,the jewellers' shops on the    
bridge1 in one of which he was brought  
up1   still remain4 ,the ,rape of the   
,sabines1 by ,john of ,bologna1 near    
,benvenuto's ,perseus1 is an admirable  
group3 nothing can exceed the           
fleshiness and softened contours of the 
female figure1 seen in every            
direction4  ,footnote #db3    ,see his  

,memoirs of himself1 lately             
re-translated by ,thomas ,roscoe1       
,esq4  ,footnote #dc3    ,excellent tea 
is to be had at ,rome at an ,italian    
shop at the corner of   the ,via        
,condotti1 in the ,piazza di ,spagna4   
,footnote #dd3    ,we have five names   
unrivalled in modern times and in their 
different   ways3--,newton1 ,locke1     
,bacon1 ,shakspeare1 and ,milton--and if
 to these we   were to add a sixth that 
could not be questioned in his line1    
perhaps   it would be ,hogarth4 ,our wit
 is the effect not of gaiety1 but       
spleen--the last result of a            
pertinacious reductio ad absurdum4 ,our 
greatest wits have been our gravest men4
 ,fielding seems to have   produced his 
,history of a ,foundling with the same  
deliberation and   forethought that     
,arkwright did his spinning-jenny4 ,the 
,french have no   poetry2 that is1 no   
combination of internal feeling with    
external   imagery4 ,their dramatic     
dialogue is frothy verbiage or a        

mucilage of   sentiment without natural 
bones or substance3 ours constantly     
clings   to the concrete1 and has a     
purchase upon matter4 ,outward objects  
interfere with and extinguish the flame 
of their imagination3 with us   they are
 the fuel that kindle it into a brighter
 and stronger blaze4  ,footnote #de3    
,a ,mr4 ,law lately came over from      
,america to horsewhip the writer of an  
article in the ,quarterly1 reflecting on
 his mother 7,mrs4 ,law7 as a   woman of
 bad character1 for the ,tory reason    
that she was the wife of a   ,mr4 ,law1 
who differed with his brother 7,lord    
,ellenborough7 in   politics4 ,he called
 on ,mr4 ,barrow1 who knew nothing of   
the writer2 he   called on ,mr4         
,gifford1 who knew nothing of the       
writer2 he called on   ,mr4 ,murray1 who
 looked oddly1 but he could get no      
redress except a   public disavowal of  
the falsehood2 and they took that       
opportunity to   retract some other     
,american calumny4 ,mr4 ,l4 called on   

one ,secretary of   the ,admiralty1 but 
there are two ,secretaries of the       
,admiralty6  ,footnote #df3    ,chief   
,justice ,holt used to say1 #8there were
 more robberies committed   in ,england 
than in ,scotland1 because we had better
 hearts4' ,the   ,english are at all    
times disposed to interpret this        
literally4  ,footnote #dg3    ,see even 
the ,ananias1 ,elymas1 and others1 which
 might be thought   exceptions4         
,footnote #dh3    ,the girls who work in
 the vineyards1 are paid three batz a   
day4  ,footnote #di3    ,since my return
 ,i have put myself on a regimen of     
brown bread1 beef1   and tea1 and have  
thus defeated the systematic conspiracy 
carried on   against weak digestions4   
,to those accustomed to1 and who can    
indulge   in foreign luxuries1 this list
 will seem far from satisfactory4       
,footnote #ej3    ,i believe this rule  
will apply to all except grotesques1    
which are   evidently taken from        
opposite natures4  ,footnote #ea3       

,some one finely applied to the repose  
of this figure the words3               
#8----,sedet1 in ternumque sedebit1     
,infelix ,theseus4'  ,footnote #eb3     
,by ,mr4 ,coleridge4  ,footnote #ec3    
,the oil-pictures attributed to ,michael
 ,angelo are meagre and pitiful2   such 
as that of the ,fates at ,florence4     
,another of ,witches1 at ,cardinal      
,fesch's at ,rome1 is like what the late
 ,mr4 ,barry would have admired   and   
imitated--dingy1 coarse1 and vacant4    
,footnote #ed3    ,see an admirable     
,essay on the genius of ,hogarth1 by    
,charles ,lamb1 in a   periodical work1 
called ,the ,reflector4  ,footnote #ee3 
,this painter's book of studies from    
nature1 commonly called ,liber          
,veritatis1 disproves the truth of the  
general opinion that his   landscapes   
are mere artificial compositions for the
 finished pictures   are nearly         
fac-similes of the original sketches4   
,footnote #ef3    ,the idea of the      
necessity of improving upon nature1 and 

giving what   was called a flattering   
likeness1 was universal in this country 
fifty years ago2 so that ,gainsborough  
is not to be so much blamed for         
tampering with his subjects4  ,footnote 
#eg3    ,why does not the ,british      
,institution1 instead of patronising    
pictures   of the battle of ,waterloo1  
of red coats1 foolish faces1 and labels 
of   victory1 offer a prize for a       
picture of the subject of ,ugolino that 
shall be equal to the group of the      
,laocoon8 ,that would be the way to   do
 something1 if there is anything to be  
done by such patronage4  ,footnote #eh3 
,this subject of the ,ideal will be     
resumed1 and more particularly          
enlarged upon1 under that head4         
,footnote #ei3    ,if we were to make   
any qualification of this censure1 it   
would be in   favour of some of ,mr4    
,northcote's compositions from early    
,english   history4                     
,,notes                                 
,,picture-,,galleries ,,in ,,england    

,in #ahbd a volume was published1       
entitled ,british ,galleries of ,art1   
#8printed for ,g4  ,w4 ,b4 ,whittaker1  
,ave-,maria-,lane1' by ,thomas ,davison1
 ,whitefriars1 which is sometimes put   
forward by second-hand booksellers as by
 ,william ,hazlitt4 ,the articles       
composing the volume appeared in the    
,new ,monthly ,magazine in #ahbc 7see   
vols4 ,,vii4 and ,,viii471 and their    
subjects are in most cases identical    
with those in ,hazlitt's                
,picture-,galleries in ,england         
7,angerstein1 ,dulwich1 the ,marquis of 
,stafford's ,gallery1 ,windsor ,castle1 
,hampton ,court1 ,blenheim72 apart from 
the internal evidence1 however1 which is
 overwhelming1 the anonymous author says
 in his preface that #8any merit that   
may attach to the mere plan of 8,british
 ,galleries of ,art0 belongs entirely to
 the author of the ,picture-,galleries  
in ,england1 the separate ,papers of    
which appeared1 7also in a periodical   
work7 about the same time with those of 

the following which are on the same     
subjects4'  ,hazlitt included his       
criticism on the pictures of ,titian at 
the ,marquis of ,stafford's and at      
,windsor ,castle in the ,appendix to    
#8,the ,life of ,titian3 with anecdotes 
of the distinguished persons of his     
time4 ,by ,james ,northcote1 ,esq41     
,r4,a4 ,in two volumes4 ,london4 ,henry 
,colburn and ,richard ,bentley1 #h1 ,new
 ,burlington ,street1 #ahcj4' ,see      
,memoirs of ,william ,hazlitt1 vol4     
,,ii4 pp4 #bab-ac1 and also the         
,biographical ,sketch by ,hazlitt's son1
 contributed to ,the ,literary ,remains 
of ,william ,hazlitt1 #ahcf1 for        
particulars of ,hazlitt's share in      
,northcote's work4 ,this ,appendix to   
,northcote's ,titian also contains      
#8,character of ,titian's ,portraits'   
from ,the ,plain ,speaker and #8,an     
,enquiry whether the ,fine ,arts are    
promoted by ,academies and ,public      
,institutions4'  ,,mr4 ,,angerstein',s  
,,collection  ,from ,the ,london        

,magazine1 ,december #ahbb4  ,,page  #g4
 ,balm of hurt minds4 ,macbeth1 ,act    
,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,mr4 ,angerstein4 ,john 
,julius ,angerstein 7#agce-ahbc71       
merchant and art connoisseur4 ,his      
collection of pictures formed a basis   
for the present ,national ,gallery4  #h4
 ,colnaghi's4 ,paul ,colnaghi           
7#agea-ahcc71 of the famous             
print-selling house4 ,he was of         
,milanese birth1 but a naturalised      
,englishman4  #i4 ,ludovico ,caracci4   
,lodovico ,carracci 7#aeee-afai71 of    
,bologna1 the founder of the ,eclectic  
,school of ,painting1 known better as a 
teacher than as a painter4 ,his nephew1 
,annibale 7#aefj-afji71 was the         
decorator of the ,farnese ,palace4      
,piping as though he should never be    
old4 ,sir ,philip ,sidney's ,arcadia1   
,book ,i4 chap4 #b4  #aj4 ,a letter to  
his uncle ,ludovico4 ,hazlitt gives this
 letter in the ,appendix to ,northcote's
 ,life of ,titian4  ,sebastian del      
,piombo4 ,sebastiano ,luciani           

7#adhe-aedg7 of ,venice1 a disciple     
,,page  of ,giorgione4 ,after the death 
of ,raphael he was thought the greatest 
painter in ,rome4  #aj4 ,and still      
walking under4 ,ben ,jonson1            
,underwoods1 ,,xxx41 #8,an ,epistle to  
,sir ,edward ,sackvile4'  #aa4          
,parmegiano4 ,francesco ,mazzuola       
7#aejd-aedj71 of ,parma4 ,vasari relates
 that at ,rome it was held #8that the   
soul of ,raphael had passed into the    
person of ,parmigiano4' ,he was a       
follower of ,correggio4  ,which pale    
passion loves4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 
,the ,nice ,valour1 ,,iii4 #c4  ,all    
ear4 ,comus1 l4 #efj4  ,mask or midnight
 serenade4                              
#8ball      ,or serenate1 which the     
starved lover sings      ,to his proud  
fair4'                                  
,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #gfh4  #ab4      
,carlo ,dolce4 ,carlo ,dolci            
7#afaf-afhf71 of ,florence1 a painter of
 tender and placid expressions1 highly  
finished4  ,somerset-house4 ,the rooms  

of the ,royal ,academy of ,arts were    
here1 #aghj-ahch4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 ,mr4  
,northcote's ,conversations1 where1 by a
 misprint1 these dates are given in the 
note to p4 #dce as #ahgj-ahch4  #ac4    
,where universal ,pan4 ,paradise ,lost1 
,,iv4 #bff4  ,lord ,egremont4 ,sir      
,george ,o',brien ,wyndham1 #crd ,earl  
of ,egremont 7#agea-ahcg71 stock-breeder
 and art patron4 ,he first promoted the 
recognition of ,turner4  ,n4 ,poussin4  
,nicolas ,poussin 7#aeid-affe71 of      
,villers1 in ,normandy4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 
,table ,talk1 pp4 #afh et seq4  ,the    
,british ,institution4 ,in ,pall ,mall  
7,no4 #eb71 built by ,boydell to contain
 his ,shakespeare ,gallery4 ,the        
,institution was dissolved in #ahff and 
the building pulled down in #ahfh4  ,of 
outward show4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,viii4  
#eci4  #ad4 ,pious orgies4 ,hazlitt may 
have been thinking of a passage by      
,burke4 ,see ,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1
 ,,ii4 p4 #he4  ,vice1 by losing all its
 grossness4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the 

,revolution in ,france1 7,select ,works1
 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #hi74  ,gaspar       
,poussin4 ,gaspard ,dughet 7#afac-afge71
 born in ,rome of ,french parents1      
,nicolas's brother-in-law and pupil4    
,the air is delicate4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4
 ,sc4 #f4  ,sear and the yellow leaf4   
,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4  ,mr4       
,wilkie4 ,david ,wilkie 7#aghe-ahda74   
,he was knighted in #ahcf4  #ae4 ,mr4   
,liston4 ,john ,liston 7#aggf8-ahdf74   
,flock of drunkards4 ,othello1 ,act     
,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,mr4 ,fuseli's ,milton  
,gallery4 ,johann ,heinrich ,fuessly1 or
 ,henry ,fuseli 7#agda-ahbe71 of        
,zurich1 who came to ,england in #agfc1 
writer and painter1 opened his ,milton  
,gallery in #agii4  ,a ,catalogue4 ,this
 list was added to later issues of the  
,picture-,galleries1 with the title-page
 still dated #ahbd4 ,the pages so       
occupied are numbered #ai99-bb994 ,the  
list was not given in ,the ,london      
,magazine4                              
,,the ,,dulwich ,,gallery  ,from ,the   

,london ,magazine1 ,jan4 #ahbc4  #ag4   
,when yellow leaves4 ,shakespeare's     
,sonnets1 ,,lxxiii those boughs4        
,allen4 ,john ,allen1 ,m4,d4            
7#agga-ahdc71 one of the staff of ,the  
,edinburgh ,review1 was warden of       
,dulwich ,college1 #ahaa-ahbj1 and      
master1  ,,page  #ahbj-ahdc4 ,he is     
chiefly now remembered as the friend and
 factotum of ,lord ,holland4  #ag4      
,constrained by mastery4 ,cf4 #8,that   
,love will not submit to be controlled  
by mastery1' ,wordsworth1 ,the          
,excursion1 ,,vi4 #afc1 #afd4  ,green   
and yellow melancholy4 ,twelfth ,night1 
,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4  #ah4 ,julio        
,romano4 ,giulio ,dei ,giannuzzi1 of    
,rome 7#adib-aedf71 ,raphael's          
apprentice and best pupil4  ,sir        
,francis ,bourgeois4 ,sir ,peter        
,francis ,bourgeois 7#agef-ahaa71       
landscape painter to ,george ,,iii4 and 
painter to the ,king of ,poland4 ,he    
acquired the collection of ,desenfans   
7see note to p4 #ai7 and bequeathed #cga

 pictures to ,dulwich ,college1 endowing
 the ,gallery also4  #ai4 ,mr4          
,desenfans4 ,noel ,joseph ,desenfans    
7#agde-ahjg71 of ,french birth1 whose   
collection of pictures1 bought for a    
,polish ,national ,gallery1 had to be   
sold when ,poland was dismembered4      
,shed casting a dim 444 religious light4
 ,milton1 ,il ,penseroso1 #afj4  ,cuyp4 
,aelbert ,cuyp 7#afje-afia71 the ,dutch 
,claude4  ,carlo ,maratti4 ,of          
,camurano1 in ,ancona 7#afbe-agac71     
etcher and painter4  ,what a delicious  
breath painting marriage sends forth4   
,middleton's ,women ,beware ,women1 ,act
 ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,berkeley4 ,george    
,berkeley1 ,bishop of ,cloyne           
7#afhe-agec71 whose ,treatise on the    
,principles of ,human ,knowledge1       
wherein he sets forth his philosophical 
speculations on ,matter and ,spirit1 was
 published in #agaj4  ,palpable sensible
 to feeling as to sight4 ,macbeth1 ,act 
,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,the eye is made the    
fool4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,so

 potent art4 ,tempest1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4
  #bj4 ,teniers4 ,david ,teniers        
7#afaj-afid71 of ,antwerp1 painter of   
scenes of peasant life4  ,adrian        
,brouwer4 ,of ,haarlem or ,oudenaerde   
7c4 #afje-afch71 painter of ,dutch      
interiors4  ,potations pottle deep4     
,othello1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,ostade4 
,adriaen ,janzoon van ,ostade           
7#afaj-afhe71 of ,haarlem1 painter of   
peasant scenes4 ,his brother1 ,isack van
 ,ostade 7#afba-afdi71 was also a       
painter4  ,polemberg4 ,cornells van     
,poelenburgh1 of ,utrecht 7#aehf-affg71 
landscape and portrait painter4         
,crespi4 ,giuseppe ,maria ,crespi       
7#affe-agdg71 of ,bologna4  ,sanadram4  
,probably ,pieter ,saenredam            
7#aeig-affe71 of ,assendelft1 who is    
known for his large church interiors4   
,backhuysen4 ,ludolf ,bakhuisen         
7#afca-agjh71 of ,emden1 the celebrated 
painter of sea-storms4  ,vandervelde4   
,willem ,van de ,velde 7#afcc-agjg71 the
 younger1 the greatest ,dutch marine    

painter4 ,he lies buried in ,st4        
,james's ,church1 ,piccadilly4  ,both4  
,jan ,both 7c4 #afaj-;c4 #affb71 of     
,utrecht4 ,the cattle and figures in his
 landscapes were usually added by his   
brother ,andries 7c4 #afji-;c4 #afdd74  
#ba4 ,jordaens4 8,jakob ,jordaens       
7#aeic-afgh71 of ,antwerp4  ,sacchi4    
,andrea ,sacchi 7d4 #affa71 of ,nettuno1
 near ,rome2 ,carlo ,maratti 7see note  
to p4 #ai7 was one of his pupils4       
,beechey4 ,sir ,william ,beechey        
7#agec-ahci71 portrait painter to ,queen
 ,charlotte4  ,wouvermans4 ,philips     
,wouverman 78#afad-affh71 of ,haarlem1  
celebrated for his paintings of horses4 
#bb4 ,ruysdael4 ,jakob van ,ruysdael 7c4
 #afcj-afhb71 of ,haarlem1 landscape    
painter4  ,hobbima4 ,meindert ,hobbema  
7#afch-agji71 ,dutch landscape painter4 
,,page  #bc4 ,entire affection scorneth 
hateth nicer hands4 ,spenser1 ,the      
,faerie ,queene1 ,book ,i4 ,,viii4 #dj4 
,berchem4 ,nicolaas ,pietersz1 commonly 
called ,berchem 7#afbj-afhc71 of        

,haarlem1 landscape painter1 whose work 
is characterised by much delicacy of    
composition4  ,watteau4 ,antoine        
,watteau 7#afhd-agba74  #bd4 ,body and  
limbs 444 add what flourishes4 ,cf4     
,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,grand    
caterers and wet-nurses of the state dry
 nurse of the church4 ,cowper1 ,the     
,task1 ,,ii4 #cga4  ,under the shade4   
,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 
,salvator ,rosa4 ,of ,renella1 near     
,naples 7#afae-afgc74  #be4 ,he has had 
his reward4 ,s4 ,matthew1 ,,vi4 #b4     
,andrea del ,sarto4 ,andrea d',agnolo   
7his father was a tailor1 whence his    
better-known name71 of ,florence        
7#adhg-aeca71 the #8faultless painter4' 
,what lacks it then8 ,cf4 ,s4 ,matthew  
,,xix4 #bj4  ,le ,brun4 ,charles ,le    
,brun 7#afai-afij71 ,french historical  
painter4 ,he was one of the principal   
founders of the ,academy1 the first     
director of the ,gobelins manufactory1  
and did much of the decoration of       
,versailles4  ,wilson4 ,richard ,wilson 

7#agad-aghb71 one of the greatest of    
,english landscape painters4  ,guercino4
 ,giovanni ,francesco ,barbieri1 the    
squint-eyed 7#aeia-afff71 of ,cento1 in 
the ,ferrarese country4  ,francesco     
,mola4 ,pietro ,francesco ,mola         
7#afab-affh71 a follower of the         
,venetian ,school4  #bf4 ,giorgione4    
,giorgio ,barbarelli 7c4 #adgf-aeaa71 of
 ,castelfranco1 a fellow-student of     
,titian1 and one of the greatest of the 
,venetian painters4  ,guido4 ,guido     
,reni 7#aege-afdb71 of ,calvenzo1 near  
,bologna4  ,vanderwerf4 ,adriaan van der
 ,werff 7#afei-agbb71 of ,rotterdam4    
,p4 ,veronese4 ,paolo ,caliari          
7#aebh-aehh71 of ,verona4  ,morales4    
,luis de ,morales 7d4 #aehf71 of        
,badajoz1 #8the divine1' a follower of  
,michael ,angelo and ,leonardo da       
,vinci4                      ,,the      
,,marquis ,,of ,,stafford',s ,,gallery  
,from ,the ,london ,magazine1 ,february 
#ahbc4  #bg4 ,forked mountain4 ,antony  
and ,cleopatra1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #ab4    

,volume of the brain4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 
,sc4 #e4  ,life is as a lasting storm4  
,pericles1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4  #bh4    
,lord ,bacon exclaims 444 poems of      
,homer4 ,in the ,advancement of         
,learning1 ,book ,i4 ,,viii4 #f4  #bi4  
,a book sealed4 ,cf4 ,revelation1 ,v4 i4
  ,hoole's ,version4 ,john ,hoole's     
7#agbg-ahjc7 translations of ,tasso's   
,jerusalem ,delivered1 and ,arioto's    
,orlando ,furioso were published in     
#agfc and #aghc respectively4  #cj4     
,david4 ,jacques ,louis ,david          
7#agdh-ahbe74 ,during the ,revolution he
 supported ,robespierre1 but later he   
became first painter to the first       
,napoleon4  ,the foremost man in all    
this world4 ,julius ,caesar1 ,act ,,iv4 
,sc4 #c4  ,monsieur ,talleyrand4        
,charles ,maurice ,talleyrand de        
,prigord1 ,prince de ,bnvent            
7#aged-ahch71 ,de ,quincey's #8rather   
middling bishop1 but very eminent       
knave4'  ,,page  #cj4 ,the late ,lord   
,castlereagh4 ,lord ,castlereagh had    

committed suicide in a fit of insanity  
in #ahbb4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 ,political   
,essays1 pp4 #ajb-c1 and note to p4 #cf 
etc4  #ca4 ,barry4 ,james ,barry        
7#agda-ahjf74 ,see ,hazlitt's article on
 him1 p4 #dac et seq4  ,collins4        
,probably ,richard ,collins             
7#agee-ahca71 who was chief miniature   
and enamel painter to ,george ,,iii4    
,and o'er-informed the tenement of clay4
 ,dryden1 ,absalom and ,achitophel1 ,i4 
#aeh4  #cb4 ,like an exhalation a steam4
 ,milton1 ,comus1 #eef4  #cc4 ,which of 
you copied the other8 ,said of ,menander
 by ,aristophanes of ,byzantium4  ,note4
 ,cleveland-,house4 ,near ,stable ,yard1
 ,st4 ,james's1 now called ,bridgewater 
,house4 ,it was bought by the ,duke of  
,bridgewater in #agcj4  #cd4 ,albano4   
,francesco ,albani 7#aegh-affj71 of     
,bologna1 the friend of ,guido ,reni1   
and his fellow-student under the        
,carracci4  ,moroni4 ,giovanni ,battista
 ,moroni 7#aebj-aegh71 of ,bondio1 in   
the province of ,bergamo1 one of the    

greatest of portrait painters4  ,milk of
 human kindness4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4
 #e4  ,pordenone4 ,giovanni ,antonio    
,licinio 7#adhc-aeci71 of ,pordenone1   
near ,udine4  ,tintoretto4 ,jacopo      
,robusti1 or ,tintoretto1 from his      
father's trade1 dyeing 7#aeai-aeid71 the
 head of ,venetian sixteenth century    
painting4  ,note4 ,the late ,mr4        
,curran4 ,john ,philpot ,curran1 the    
famous orator1 had died in #ahag4  #ce4 
,palma ,vecchio4 ,jacopo ,palma         
7#adhj-aebh71 of ,serinalta1 in the     
province of ,bergamo4 ,he is associated 
with ,giorgione and ,titian in the      
reform of the ,venetian school4         
,bassan4 ,jacopo da ,ponte1 ,il ,bassano
 7#aeai-aeib71 a follower of ,titian1   
and a member of a family of north       
,italian painters4  ,luca ,cambiasi4    
,luca ,cambiaso 7#aebg-aehe71 of        
,moneglia1 near ,genoa1 whose greatest  
work1 ,the ,rape of the ,sabines1 is in 
the ,imperial ,palace1 at ,terralba1    
near ,genoa4  ,alessandro ,veronese4    

,alessandro ,turchi 7#aehb-;c4 #afdh71  
of ,verona4  ,domenichino4 ,domenico    
,zampieri 7#aeha-afda71 of ,bologna1 a  
pupil of the ,carracci4  ,le ,nain4     
,antoine and ,louis ,le ,nain 7b4 #aehh 
and #aeic respectively71 of ,laon4 ,they
 painted pictures of rustic life        
together4  ,metzu4 ,gabriel ,metsu      
7#afcj-affg71 a genre painter1 of       
,leyden4 ,he was a pupil of ,dou4       
,douw4 ,gerard ,dou 7#afac-afge71 of    
,leyden1 one of the greatest of ,dutch  
painters of humble life4  #cf4          
,vangoyen4 ,jan van ,goyen 7#aeif-afff71
 of ,leyden1 one of the earliest of     
,dutch landscape painters4  ,with yellow
 tufted banks4         #8,the slow      
canal1 the yellow-blossomed vale1       
,the willow-tufted bank1 the gliding    
sale4'                                  
,goldsmith1 ,the ,traveller1 #bic-d4    
,,the ,,pictures ,,at ,,windsor ,,castle
  ,from ,the ,london ,magazine1 ,march  
#ahbc  #cf4 ,a line of ,kings4 ,macbeth1
 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,the oak of      

,herne the hunter4 ,merry ,wives of     
,windsor1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #e4  #cg4 ,the  
proud ,keep of ,windsor4 ,a ,letter to a
 ,noble ,lord1 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,v4      
#acg74  ,,page  #cg4 ,verrio4 ,antonio  
,verrio 7#afci-agjg71 of ,lecce1 near   
,otranto4 ,he was employed at ,windsor  
under ,charles ,,ii4 and ,james ,,ii41  
and at ,hampton ,court under ,anne4     
,west4 ,benjamin ,west 7#agch-ahbj71 of 
,pennsylvania4 ,he succeeded ,sir       
,joshua ,reynolds in #agib as ,president
 of the ,royal ,academy4  ,zuccarelli4  
,francesco ,zuccarelli 7c4 #agjb-aghh71 
of ,tuscany4 ,he was one of the founders
 of the ,royal ,academy4  #ch4          
,clear-spirited thought4        ,cf4    
#8,fame is the spur that the clear      
spirit doth raise4'                     
,milton1 ,lycidas1 #gj4  ,mrs4          
,hutchinson's admirable ,memoirs4 ,lucy 
,hutchinson's memoirs of her husband1   
the ,puritan ,colonel1 were first       
published in #ahjf4  ,lely4 ,pieter van 
der ,faes 7#afah-afhj74 ,his father     

changed the name to ,lely4 ,he was made 
a baronet by ,charles ,,ii4  #ci4       
,kneller4 ,he was born at ,lbeck in     
#afdf1 made a fortune in ,england as a  
portrait painter1 was knighted in #afib1
 made a baronet in #agae1 and died in   
#agbc4 ,pope wrote an epitaph for his   
monument in ,westminster ,abbey4        
,ramsay4 ,allan ,ramsay1 portrait       
painter 7#agac-aghd71 son of #8the      
,gentle ,shepherd4'  #dj4 ,the ,misers4 
,see vol4 ,,ii4 ,characteristics1 p4    
#dag4  ,quintin ,matsys4 ,quentin       
,massys 7#adff-aeca71 of ,louvain1 the  
painter of ,the ,entombment1 in the     
,museum at ,antwerp4  ,the still1 small 
voice of reason4 ,cf4 ,cowper1 ,the     
,task1 v4 #fhg1 and #a ,kings xix4 #ab4 
#da4 ,denner4 ,balthasar ,denner        
7#afhe-agdi71 of ,hamburg4              
,,the ,,pictures ,,at ,,hampton ,,court 
,from ,the ,london ,magazine1 ,june     
#ahbc4  ,the previous article in the    
series ended with the words3--#8,we     
shall break off here1 and give some     

account of the ,cartoons at ,hampton    
,court in our next1 as we do not like   
them to come in at the fag-end of an    
article4'  #db4 ,fine by degrees4       
,prior1 ,henry and ,emma1 #dcb4  #dd4   
,calm contemplation and majestic pains4 
,cf4 #8,calm pleasures there            
abide--majestic pains4'                 
,wordsworth's ,laodamia1 #gb4           
and #8,calm contemplation and poetic    
ease4'                                  
,thomson's ,autumn1 #abge4  #df4 ,the   
seasons' difference4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1
 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,through their    
looped and tattered #8wretchedness4 ,cf4
 #8,your loop'd and windowed            
raggedness4' ,king ,lear1 ,act ,,iii4   
,sc4 #d4  ,sir ,james ,thornhill4 ,he   
copied the cartoons at ,hampton ,court1 
decorated ,greenwich1 and was much      
employed by ,queen ,anne4 ,he was       
knighted in #agbj by ,george ,i4        
7#afge-agcd74  #dg4 ,like to those      
hanging locks4 ,fletcher1 ,the ,faithful
 ,shepherdess1 ,i4 #b4  #dh4 ,dwelleth  

not in temples4 ,acts vii4 #dh4  ,in act
 to speak4 ,pope1 ,the ,temple of ,fame1
 #bda4                   ,,lord         
,,grosvenor',s ,,collection ,,of        
,,pictures  ,from ,the ,london          
,magazine1 ,july #ahbc4  ,,page  #di4   
,in our mind's eye1 ,horatio4 ,hamlet1  
,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4  ,warton4 ,thomas     
,warton 7#agbh-agij74 ,see vol4 ,v4     
,lectures on the ,english ,poets1 p4    
#abj and note4  #ej4 ,at every fall4    
,milton1 ,comus1 #bea4  #ea4 ,nod to    
him1 elves4 ,a ,midsummer ,night's      
,dream1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,the      
breezy call4 ,gray's ,elegy written in a
 ,country ,churchyard4  #eb4 ,air shape 
and gesture proudly eminent4 ,paradise  
,lost1 ,book ,i4 #eij4  #ec4 ,it is     
place which lessens4 ,cymbeline1 ,act   
,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  #ed4 ,sigh our souls4  
,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 
,snyders4 ,franz ,snyders 7#aegi-afeg71 
of ,antwerp1 painter of hunting scenes4 
#ee4 ,of the earth1 earthy4 #a ,cor4 xv4
 #dg4  ,we think it had better not be   

seen4 ,the ,magazine article            
adds3--#8,we never very much liked this 
picture2 but that may probably be our   
fault4'                     ,,pictures  
,,at ,,wilton1 ,,stourhead1 ,,etc4      
,from ,the ,london ,magazine1 ,october  
#ahbc4  ,the article ends with the      
words3--#8,blenheim in our next1 which  
will conclude this series of articles4' 
,note4 ,the author of ,vathek4 ,william 
,beckford 7#agei-ahdd71 whose romance   
was written in ,french in #agha-aghb1   
translated anonymously into ,english in 
#aghd1 and published in ,french in      
#aghg4  #eg4 ,ranged in a row4 #8,ranged
 o'er the chimney1 glistened in a row1' 
,goldsmith1 ,the ,deserted ,village1    
#bcf4  #eh4 ,keep their state4 ,love's  
,labour's ,lost1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4      
,burke's description of the age of      
chivalry4 ,reflections on the           
,revolution in ,france1 ,select ,works1 
ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #hi4  ,the mood of    
lutes flutes4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,book ,i4
 #eea4  ,mount on barbed steeds1 etc4   

,cf4 #8,mounting barbed steeds4' ,king  
,richard ,,iii41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 and1 
#8,witch the world with noble           
horsemanship4'                          
#a ,king ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4  
#a4  ,the ,goose ,gibbie4 ,see ,old     
,mortality4  #ei4 ,of all men the most  
miserable4 #a ,cor4 xv4 #ai4  ,above all
 pain4 ,pope's ,epistle to ,robert1     
,earl of ,oxford4  ,berchem4 ,see ante1 
note to p4 #bb4  ,hath a devil4 ,s4     
,luke vii4 #cc4  #fj4 ,mieris4 ,a family
 of ,delft and ,leyden painters1 the    
best known of whom are ,frans van       
,mieris1 one of twenty-three children   
7#afce-afha71 the #8prince of ,dou's    
pupils1' and ,william van ,mieris1 his  
son 7#affb-agdg74  ,the porcelain of    
,franguestan4 #8,vathek voluptuously    
reposed in his capacious litter upon    
cushions of silk1 with two little pages 
beside him of complexions more fair than
 the enamel of ,franguistan4' ,the      
description is commented on in a note   
which explains that they were           

,circassian boy-slaves4  ,sir ,richard  
,colt ,hoare4 ,historian of ,wiltshire  
7#ageh-ahch74  #fa4 ,tempt but to       
betray4      ,cf4 #8,whose fruit though 
fair1 tempts only to destroy4'          
,cowper1 ,the ,progress of ,error1 #bch4
  ,,page  #fa4 ,trace his footsteps4    
,cf4 #8,where shall ,i seek             
,his bright appearances1 or footstep    
trace8            ,for1 though ,i fled  
him angry1 yet1 recalled            ,to 
life prolonged and promised race1 ,i now
            ,gladly behold though but   
his utmost skirts            ,of glory1 
and far-off his steps adore4'           
,paradise ,lost1 ,,xi4 #cbh4  ,though in
 ruins4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #cjj4    
,of the court1 courtly4 ,cf4 #8,of the  
earth1 earthy4' #a ,cor4 xv4 #dg4       
,,pictures ,,at ,,burleigh ,,house      
,from the ,new ,monthly ,magazine1 vol4 
,,iv41 #ahbb1 ,table ,talk1 ,no4 ,,iv4  
#fb4 ,and dull dead cold winter4 ,the   
,two ,noble ,kinsmen1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4   
#a4  ,faded to the light4 ,wordsworth1  

,ode1 ,intimations of ,immortality4     
,ways were mire4 ,milton1 ,sonnet ,,xx4 
#fc4 ,and still walking under4 ,see     
ante1 note to p4 #aj4  ,i was brutish   
beastly like1 warlike as the wolf4      
,cymbeline1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,paul 
,potter4 ,of ,enkhuizen 7#afbe-afed71   
animal painter4  #fd4 ,to see the sun to
 bed4 ,lamb1 ,john ,woodvil1 ,act ,,ii4 
,hunt half a day4 ,wordsworth's         
,hart-,leap ,well1 ,part ,,ii4  #fe4    
,humbled by such rebuke4 ,paradise      
,lost1 ,,vi4 #cdb4  ,and in its liquid  
texture4 ,ibid41 ,,vi4 #cdh-i4          
,inimitable on earth4 ,ibid41 ,,iii4    
#ejh4  #ff4 ,hesperian fable true4      
,ibid41 ,,iv4 #bej4  ,dream of a        
,painter4 ,see ,northcote's ,varieties  
on ,art in his ,memoirs of ,sir ,joshua 
,reynolds1 etc4 7#ahac-ahae71 p4 xvi4   
,see also vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round ,table1  
note to ,guido1 p4 #afb4  ,paul ,brill4 
,of ,antwerp 7#aeef-afbf71 a follower of
 ,titian4  #fg4 ,his light shone in     
darkness4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,john i4 #e4  ,luca  

,jordano4 ,luca ,giordano 7#afcb-agje71 
of ,naples1 #8,il ,presto1' the quick   
worker1 who imitated all the great      
painters4  ,grinling ,gibbons4 ,the wood
 carver 7#afdh-agbj71 of ,rotterdam4 ,he
 was brought to public notice by        
,evelyn1 the ,diarist1 and his work may 
be seen in ,st4 ,paul's1 ,london1 and   
,trinity ,college ,library1 ,cambridge4 
#fh4 ,lords who love their ladies like4 
,cf4 ,home's ,douglas1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a3
 #8,as women wish to be who love their  
lords4'                       ,,pictures
 ,,at ,,oxford ,,and ,,blenheim  ,from  
the ,london ,magazine1 ,november #ahbc  
,the article ends as follows3--#8,we now
 take leave of ,british ,galleries of   
,art4 ,there are one or two others that 
we had intended to visit2 but they are  
at a great distance from us and from    
each other2 and we are not quite sure   
that they would repay our inquiries4    
,besides1 to say the truth1 we have     
already pretty well exhausted our stock 
of criticism1 both general and          

particular4 ,the same names were        
continually occurring1 and we began     
sometimes to be apprehensive that the   
same observations might be repeated over
 again4 ,one thing we can say1 that the 
going through our regular task has not  
lessened our respect for the great names
 here alluded to2 and1 if we shall have 
inspired1 in the progress of it1 any    
additional degree of curiosity          
respecting the art1 or any greater love 
of it in our readers1 we shall think our
 labour and our anxiety to do justice to
 the subject most amply rewarded4'      
,,page  #fi4 ,with glistering spires4   
,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #eej4  ,hold    
high converse4 ,thomson1 ,the ,seasons3 
,winter1 #dca4  ,no mean city4 ,acts    
xxi4 #ci4  ,all eyes shall see me4 ,cf4 
,isaiah xlv4 #bb-bc and ,romans xiv4    
#aa4  #gj4 ,clappeth his wings1 and     
straightway he is gone4 ,cf4 ,pope1     
,eloisa to ,abelard1 #gd3               
#8,spreads his light wings1 and in a    
moment flies4'  ,majestic1 though in    

ruins4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #cjj4     
,giuseppe ,ribera4 ,josef ,ribera       
7#aehh-afef71 of ,san ,felipe1 near     
,valencia1 a pupil of ,caravaggio and   
leader of the realist school of his     
time4  #ga4 ,lucid mirror4 ,cowper1 ,the
 ,task1 ,i4 #gja4  ,and fast by hanging 
in a golden chain4 ,paradise ,lost1     
,,ii4 #ajea4  ,in form resembling a     
goose pie4 ,cf4 #8,a thing resembling a 
goose-pie1' ,swift1 ,vanburgh's ,house1 
l4 #ajd4  ,the old ,duchess of          
,marlborough4 ,sarah ,churchill1 ne     
,jennings 7#affj-agdd71 wife of ,john1  
#ast ,duke of ,marlborough4  #gb4 ,leave
 stings4 ,cf4 #8,would leave a sting    
within a brother's heart4'              
,young1 ,love of ,fame1 ,sat4 ,,ii4     
#aac4  #gc4 ,sure never were seen4      
,sheridan1 ,the ,school for ,scandal1   
,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,other horses are   
clowns4 ,see vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round       
,table1 p4 #aej4  ,mr4 ,t4 ,moore's     
#8,loves of the ,angels4' ,published    
,jan4 #a1 #ahbc4  #ge4 ,as if increase  

of appetite4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 
,we are ignorance itself4 #a ,king      
,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4      
,,criticism ,,on ,,hogarth',s ,,marriage
 ,a-,,la-,,mode  ,see vol4 ,i4 ,the     
,round ,table1 pp4 #be et seq41 and     
notes thereto4                          
,,notes ,,of ,a ,,journey ,,through     
,,france  ,,and ,,italy  ,the           
circumstances which led to and succeeded
 the tour in ,france and ,italy         
described in the following letters will 
be found detailed in the ,memoirs of    
,william ,hazlitt1 pp4 #ajg et seq4 ,the
 journey began in ,august #ahbd1 shortly
 after ,hazlitt married ,mrs4           
,bridgewater2 and it ended in ,october  
#ahbe1 by the return home alone of      
,hazlitt and his son4                   
,,chapter ,i  ,from the ,morning        
,chronicle1 ,tuesday1 ,sept4 #ad1 #ahbd 
#ij4 ,forever the same4 ,add1 from the  
newspaper3--#8,the sea at present puts  
me in mind of ,lord ,byron--it is       
restless1 glittering1 dangerous1        

exhaustless1 like his style4'  ,can     
question thine4 ,add3--#8,hearing some  
lines repeated out of ,virgil1 while    
,b---- and ,i were sitting near the     
melancholy ,scottish shores1 looking    
towards ,england1 ,i said that the sound
 of the ,latin language was to me like  
the sound of the sea--melodious1        
strange1 lasting6 ,so the verses we had 
just heard had lingered on the ear of   
memory1 had flowed from the learned     
tongue1 for near two thousand years6'   
,,page  #ia4 ,in a great pool4          
,cymbeline1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4  #ib4  
,otto of roses4 ,add3--#8,it was like   
other beds in ,france--not aired4'  ,a  
compound of villainous smells4 ,merry   
,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #e4
  ,mieris4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #fj4   
,jan ,steen4 ,of ,leyden 7#afbf-afgi71 a
 follower of ,van ,ostade1 ,brouwer1 and
 ,van ,goyen4  #ic4 ,gay1 sprightly land
 of mirth and social ease4 ,goldsmith1  
,the ,traveller1 #da-b4                 
,,chapter ,,ii  ,september #ag  #id4    

,bidding the lovely scenes4 ,collins1   
,ode on the ,passions4  #ih4 ,the pomp  
of groves4 ,beattie1 ,the ,minstrel1 ,i4
 #i4  #ii4 ,note4 ,gil ,blas's ,supper4 
,cf4 ,book ,i4 chap4 #b4  ,note4        
,chateaubriand 444 ,on the ,censorship4 
,franois ,ren1 ,vicomte de              
,chateaubriand's 7#agfh-ahdh7 phase of  
politics between #ahbd and #ahcj was one
 of ,liberalism4 ,his writings in the   
,journal des ,dbats and elsewhere caused
 the ,chamber to abandon its proposed   
law against the press4  #ajj4 ,swinging 
slow with sullen roar4 ,il ,penseroso1  
#gf4                                    
,,chapter ,,iii  ,september #bd  #ajb4  
,my tables4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4  
#ajc4 ,like the fat weed4 ,hamlet1 ,act 
,i4 ,sc4 #e4  #aje4 ,exhalation steam of
 rich-distilled perfumes4 ,milton1      
,comus1 #eef4  #ajf4 ,let their discreet
 hearts believe think it4 ,othello1 ,act
 ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4                         
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,september #bh  #ajf4  
,first and last and midst4 ,paradise    

,lost1 v4 #afe4  ,worn them as a rich   
jewel4 ,hazlitt quotes from himself4    
,see vol4 ,,vi41 ,table ,talk1 p4 #agd4 
,thrown into the pit4 ,cf4 ,genesis     
xxxvii4 #bd4  ,school calleth unto      
,school4 ,psalm xlii4 #g3 #8deep calleth
 to deep4'  #ajg4 ,my theme shame in    
crowds4 ,goldsmith1 ,the ,deserted      
,village1 #dab4  ,brave o'er-hanging    
firmament4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 
,hang upon the beatings of my heart4    
,wordsworth1 ,tintern ,abbey4  ,stood   
the statue that enchants the world4     
,thomson1 ,the ,seasons1 ,summer1 #acdg4
  ,there was old ,proteus4 ,altered from
 ,wordsworth's ,sonnet1 #8,the world is 
too much with us4'  ,sit squat1 like a  
toad4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #hjj4      
#ajh4 ,the death of the ,king4 ,louis   
,,xviii4 of ,france died in ,september  
#ahbd4  ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence4         
,portrait-painter 7#agfi-ahcj74  #aji4  
,to cure drive all sadness but despair4 
,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #aef4  ,verdurous
 wall of ,paradise4 ,ibid41 ,,iv4 #adc4 

,in darkness visible4 ,ibid41 ,i4 #fc4  
,hulling4 #8,hull on the flood4' ,ibid41
 ,,xi4 #hdj4  ,blind with rain4         
,cf4 #8,when the chill rain begins at   
shut of eve         ,in dull ,november1 
and their chancel vault1         ,the   
,heaven itself1 is blinded throughout   
night4'                                 
,keats's ,hyperion1 ,,ii4 #cf-ch4  ,lord
 ,byron 444 ,heaven and ,earth4 ,sc4    
,,iii4  ,,page  #aaj4 ,le ,brun4 ,see   
ante1 note to p4 #be4  ,sebastian       
,bourdon4 ,french painter and engraver  
7#afaf-afga74 ,he was one of the twelve 
artists who founded the ,academy of     
,painting and ,sculpture in #afdh4  ,le 
,sueur4 ,eustache ,le ,sueur            
7#afaf-afee71 ,french historical        
painter1 also one of the twelve 7see    
above74 ,he is one of the greatest of   
,french painters1 and is often called   
the ,french ,raphael4  ,philip          
,champagne4 ,philippe de ,champaigne    
7#afjb-afgd71 of the ,french school of  
historical and portrait painting1 though

 of ,brussels birth4 ,he was one of the 
first members of the ,academy1 worked   
for ,cardinal ,richelieu1 and was       
greatest as a portrait painter4  ,david4
 ,see ante1 note to p4 #cj4  ,daniel    
,volterra4 ,daniele ,ricciarelli1 or    
,daniele da ,volterra from the place of 
his birth 7#aeji-aeff71 the friend of   
,michael ,angelo1 who aided him in his  
chief work1 the frescoes in the ,capella
 ,orsini1 ,trinit de ,monti1 ,rome4     
#aaa4 ,weenix4 ,jan ,weenix             
7#afdj-agai71 of ,amsterdam1 noted for  
his painting of dead game4  ,wouvermans4
 ,see ante1 note to p4 #ba4  ,ruysdael4 
,see ante1 note to p4 #bb4  ,non equidem
 invideo1 miror magis4 ,virgil1         
,eclogues1 ,i4 #aa4  #aab4 ,thick as the
 autumnal leaves4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4  
#cjc4  #aac4 ,founded as the rock4      
,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4  ,coop'd 
cribb'd and cabin'd4 ,macbeth1 ,act     
,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4                         
,,chapter ,v  ,october #e4 ,no4 ,,vi4   
7,october #f7 in the newspaper1 begins  

at the paragraph #8,the ordinary        
prejudice1' etc41 on p4 #aah4  ,if the  
,french have a fault4 ,a ,sentimental   
,journey4 ,character1 ,versailles4      
#aae4 ,jump at4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4  
#a4  #aaf4 ,the finest line in ,racine4 
#8,je crains ,dieu1 cher ,abner1 et n'ai
 point d'autre crainte4' ,athalie1 ,act 
,i4 ,sc4 #a4  #aah4 ,pleas'd with a     
feather rattle4 ,pope1 ,essay on ,man1  
,ep4 ,,ii4 #bge4  ,marmontel's ,tales4  
,jean ,francois ,marmontel's            
7#agbc-agii71 ,contes ,moraux 7#agfa71  
of which several editions have appeared 
in ,english4  #aai4 ,quickens1 even with
 blowing4 ,othello1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4 
,the melancholy of ,moorditch4 #a ,king 
,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4  #abj4  
,rousseau's ,emilius4 ,published #agfb4 
,la ,place4 ,pierre ,simon1 ,marquis de 
,laplace 7#agdi-ahbg71 the great        
astronomer and mathematician4           
,lavoisier4 ,antoine ,laurent ,lavoisier
 7#agdc-agid71 the founder of modern    
chemistry3 he was guillotined in the    

,revolution4  ,cuvier4 ,leopold         
,christian ,frdric ,dagobert ,cuvier1   
better known as ,georges ,cuvier        
7#agfi-ahcb71 the great zoologist and   
reformer in ,education4  ,houdon4       
,jean-,antoine ,houdon 7#agda-ahbh71 one
 of the greatest of ,french sculptors4  
,of his statue of ,st4 ,bruno1 the      
founder of the ,carthusian order1 ,pope 
,clement ,,xiv4 said that #8it would    
speak were it not for the ,carthusian   
rule of silence4'  #aba4 ,laborious     
foolery4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #eed1     
,hazlitt's letter to ,the ,morning      
,chronicle on ,modern ,comedy4  ,horace 
,vernet4 ,emile ,jean ,horace ,vernet   
7#aghi-ahfc71 the #8,paul ,delaroche of 
military painting4'  #abb4 ,good haters4
 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 
note to p4 #ahj4  ,,page                
,,chapter ,,vi  ,october #h4 ,numbered  
,,vi4 in the newspaper1 but see ante1   
note to chapter ,v4  #abb4 ,guerin4     
,pierre ,marcisse1 ,baron ,gurin1       
,french historical painter 7#aggd-ahcc74

 ,his chief work is #8,the ,return of   
,marcus ,sixtus' 7#agii74  #abc4        
,rouget4 ,georges ,rouget 7#aghd-ahfi71 
,french portrait and historical painter1
 a pupil of ,david4  ,ward4 ,possibly   
,james ,ward 7#agfi-ahei71 animal       
painter4  ,haydon4 ,benjamin ,robert    
,haydon 7#aghf-ahdf71 historical        
painter1 whose pupils included ,bewick1 
,landseer1 and ,eastlake4  ,drlling4    
,michel ,martin ,drolling 7#aghf-ahea71 
,french portrait and historical painter1
 a pupil of ,david4  ,gerard4 ,franois  
,pascal ,simon1 ,baron ,grard           
7#aggj-ahcg71 ,french portrait and      
historical painter1 a follower of       
,david1 chiefly celebrated for his      
portraits4  #abd4 ,madame ,hersent4     
,louise ,marie ,jeanne ,mauduit         
7#aghd-ahfb71 the wife of ,louis        
,hersent4 ,both were historical and     
portrait painters4  ,bouton4 ,charles   
,marie ,bouton 7#agha-ahec71 a pupil of 
,david4 ,his collaborator in the        
invention of the ,diorama was ,daguerre4

  #abe4 ,mons4 ,caminade4 ,alexandre    
,franois ,caminade 7#aghc-ahfb71 ,french
 historical and portrait painter4  #abf4
 ,mr4 ,hayter4 ,sir ,george ,hayter     
7#agib-ahga71 appointed miniature       
painter to ,queen ,charlotte in #ahaf1  
knighted in #ahdb4 ,his father1 ,charles
 ,hayter1 was also a miniature painter4 
,sir ,george ,hayter painted #8,the     
,trial of ,queen ,caroline' 7see p4     
#abh74  ,mr4 ,constable4 ,john          
,constable 7#aggf-ahcg71 one of the     
greatest of ,english landscape painters4
  #abg4 ,copley ,fielding4 ,anthony     
,vandyke ,copley ,fielding 7#aghg-ahee71
 water-colour landscape painter4        
,jacquot4 ,georges ,jacquot             
7#agid-ahgd74 ,his work may be seen in  
the museums of ,nancy and ,amiens and at
 ,versailles4  ,chantry4 ,sir ,francis  
,legatt ,chantrey 7#agha-ahda74         
,nantreuil4 ,charles ,franois-,leboeuf  
,nanteuil 7#agib-ahfe74  #abi4          
,jouvenet4 ,jean ,jouvenet 7#afdd-agag71
 historical and portrait painter of     

,french birth and ,italian descent4 ,he 
is noted for the gigantic size of his   
pictures and figures4                   
,,chapter ,,vii  ,october #bb4 ,numbered
 ,,viii4  ,those faultless monsters     
which the art world4 ,from the ,essay on
 ,poetry of ,john ,sheffield1 ,duke of  
,buckingham4  ,hand-writing on the wall4
 ,daniel v4 #e4  #acj4 ,vice to be      
hated4 ,pope1 ,essay on ,man1 ,,ii4     
#bag-ah4  #aca4 ,girodet4 ,anne ,louis  
,girodet-,de-,roussy-,trioson           
7#agfg-ahbd71 ,french historical        
painter4 ,the picture #8,endymion' is   
one of his best known works4  #acb4     
,mezentius4 ,see the neid1 ,,viii4 #dhe4
  ,quod sic mihi ostendis4 ,horace1 ,ars
 ,poet41 #ahh4  ,with hideous ruin4     
,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #df4  ,accumulated 
horror4                #8,on horror's   
head horrors accumulate4'               
,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,,page  
#acc4 ,it out-herods ,herod4 ,hamlet1   
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,note4 ,dip it in 
the ocean4 ,a ,sentimental ,journey1    

,the ,wig1 ,paris4  ,note4 ,perilous    
stuff that weighs upon the heart4       
,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4  #acf4 ,like
 stars1 shoot madly start from their    
spheres4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4     
,paul ,guerin4 ,paulin ,jean ,baptiste  
,gurin1 ,french portrait and historical 
painter 7#aghc-ahee72 his chief work is 
the one of which ,hazlitt speaks4  #acg4
 ,la ,thiere4 ,guillaume ,gillon        
,lethire1 ,french historical painter    
7#agfj-ahcb71 of ,creole birth          
7,guadeloupe74 ,at one time he was      
considered ,david's rival4  ,the human  
face divine4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4    
#dd4  ,ducis4 ,louis ,ducis             
7#aggc-ahdg71 a pupil of ,david4  #ach4 
,magnis excidit ausis4 ,ovid1 ,met4     
,,ii4 #cbh4                             
,,chapter ,,viii  ,october #bc4         
,numbered ,,ix4  ,captain ,parry4       
,captain1 afterwards ,sir ,william      
,edward ,parry 7#agij-ahee71 explorer of
 the ,north-,west ,passage4  #aci4      
,note4 ,painful scene in ,evelina4      

,letter ,,xxv4  #adb4 ,note4 ,my old    
acquaintance 7,dr4 ,stoddart74 ,sir     
,john ,stoddart 7#aggc-ahef71 ,hazlitt's
 brother-in-law4 ,he was knighted in    
#ahbf4  #add4 ,mutually reflected       
charities4 ,burke1 ,select ,works1 ed4  
,payne1 ,,ii4 #dj4  ,note4 ,in the      
manner of ,swift4 ,add1 from the        
newspaper3--#8,so accomplished an       
equestrian 7thought ,i7 might ascend a  
throne with popularity and effect6 ,it  
was not the first or the last time in my
 life ,i have been rebuked for glancing 
a sceptical eye at the same sort of     
grave masquerading4--,cucullus non facit
 ,monachum4 ,it was but the other day   
that ,i was called to account for having
 hinted that a subscriber to ,the       
,sentinel1#fj and a patron and prime    
mover in ,blackwood1 is not one of the  
best and greatest characters of the age2
 or that1 if so1 then a tool of power1 a
 party-bigot1 and a suborner of private 
slander1 in support of public wrong1 is 
one of the best and greatest characters 

of the age4 ,mr4 ,blackwood should take 
care how he implicates any really       
respectable character by defending it4  
,the worst ever supposed of the author  
of ,waverley was1 that there was a      
clandestine understanding between him   
and ,mr4 ,blackwood--through ,sir       
,walter ,scott6 ,the ,ned ,christian#fa 
compliment turns upon this4 ,mr4 ,taylor
 of ,fleet-street1 need not have        
disavowed the paragraph2 it might as    
well have been laid to the charge of    
,mr4 ,taylor of ,the ,sun4 ,the passage 
was not worth speaking of--but ,i have  
since done the same thing better1 and   
the one passage is 7cleverly enough7    
brought forward as a screen to the      
other4'  #ade4 ,thrust us from a level  
consideration4 #b ,king ,henry ,,iv41   
,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,garlanded with    
flowers4         ,cf4 #8,all garlanded  
with carven imag'ries            ,of    
fruits1 and flowers1 and bunches of     
knot-grass4'                            
,keats1 ,the ,eve of ,st4 ,agnes1       

,,xxiv4  ,the lean abhorred monster4    
,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4   
,no black and melancholic yew-trees4    
,webster's ,the ,white ,devil1 ,act     
,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4  ,pansies for thoughts4  
,hamlet1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #e4  #adf4 ,the
 daughter of ,madame d',orbe4 ,sixime   
,partie1 ,lettre ,,xi4  #adf4 ,ney4     
,michel ,ney 7#agfi-ahae71 ,napoleon's  
great general1 #8the bravest of the     
brave1' who had five horses shot under  
him at ,waterloo4 ,he urged ,napoleon to
 abdicate after the campaign of #ahad1  
and on ,napoleon's return from ,elba was
 sent to fight him4 ,he went over to his
 old ,emperor1 however1 and1 after      
,waterloo1 was arrested for high        
treason1 condemned to death1 and shot in
 the ,luxembourg ,gardens4  ,massena4   
,andr ,massna 7#agef-ahag71 another of  
,napoleon's generals1 #8the favoured    
child of victory4'  ,kellerman4 ,franois
 ,christophe de ,kellermann             
7#agce-ahbj71 the successful general at 
,valmy 7#agib74  ,fontaine4 ,jean de la 

,fontaine 7#afba-afie71 the fabulist4   
,de ,lille4 ,jacques ,delille           
7#agch-ahac71 ,french poet and          
translator of ,paradise ,lost4          
,,chapter ,,ix  ,november #ag4 ,numbered
 ,x4  #adg4 ,mademoiselle ,mars4 ,see   
vol4 ,,vii41 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 pp4  
#cbd et seq4  ,mrs4 ,jordan4 ,dorothea  
or ,dorothy ,jordan 7#agfb-ahaf74 ,see  
vol4 ,,viii41 containing ,hazlitt's     
dramatic writings1 for criticism upon   
her and the following actresses4  ,mrs4 
,siddons4 ,sarah ,siddons 7#agee-ahca74 
,miss ,farren4 ,elizabeth ,farren       
7#agei8-ahbi71 ,countess of ,derby4 ,see
 vol4 ,,viii41 ,lectures on the ,comic  
,writers1 #afe1 etc4  ,mrs4 ,abington4  
,frances ,abington 7#agcg-ahae74  ,miss 
,o',neil4 ,eliza ,o',neil 7#agia-ahgb71 
afterwards ,lady ,becher4 ,see vol4 ,i41
 ,the ,round ,table1 note to p4 #aef1   
and vol4 ,,viii4 ,a ,view of the        
,english ,stage1 p4 #bia4  ,flavia the  
least and slightest toy4 ,bishop        
,atterbury's ,flavia's ,fan4  #adi4     

,monsieur ,damas4 ,for more than        
twenty-five years one of the most       
brilliant actors at the ,comdie         
,franaise4 ,he retired from the stage in
 #ahbe and died in #ahcd4  #aea4        
,midsummer madness4 ,twelfth ,night1    
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4  ,mr4 ,bartolino   
,saddletree4 ,see ,scott's ,heart of    
,midlothian4  ,whole loosened soul4     
,cf4 #8,all my loose soul unbounded     
springs to thee4'                       
,pope1 ,eloisa to ,abelard1 #bbh4  ,mrs4
 ,orger4 ,mrs4 ,mary ,ann ,orger        
7#aghh-ahdi71 chiefly remembered for her
 excellence in farce at ,drury ,lane4   
#aeb4 ,mr4 ,braham4 ,the famous tenor4  
,see note to vol4 ,,vii41 ,the ,plain   
,speaker1 p4 #gj4  ,note4 ,no single    
volume paramount4 ,wordsworth1 ,poems   
dedicated to ,national ,independence and
 ,liberty1 ,,xv41 ,sonnet beginning     
#8,great men have been among us4'  #aec4
 ,odry4 ,jacques-,charles ,odry         
7#agha-ahec74 ,he played at the ,varits 
for forty years1 the idol of his        

audiences4  ,monsieur ,potier4 ,charles 
,potier 7#agge-ahch71 comic actor4      
#aed4 ,brunet4 ,jean-,joseph ,mira1     
called ,brunet 7#agff-ahea74  ,talma4   
,franois ,joseph ,talma 7#agfc-ahbf71   
one of the greatest of ,french tragic   
actors4  ,mademoiselle ,georges4        
,marguerite-,josphine ,weimer1 otherwise
 ,georges 7#aghg-ahfg71 one of the most 
famous actresses of her day1 beautiful1 
haughty1 and wayward4  ,,page  #aed4    
,madame ,paradol4                       
,anne-,catherine-,lucinde               
,prvost-,paradol 7#agih-ahdc74          
,mademoiselle ,duchesnois4              
,catherine-,joseph ,rufuin1 otherwise   
,duchesnois 7#aggg-ahce71 classical     
tragdienne4 ,she was an intimate friend 
of ,talma1 and has been considered his  
equal4 ,the rivalry between her and the 
beautiful ,mlle4 ,georges extended to   
their respective admirers and to the    
press4                                  
,,chapter ,x  ,october #bf4 ,numbered   
,,xi4  #aeg4 ,inigo ,jones4 ,the        

architect of ,lincoln's ,inn ,chapel1   
the banqueting-house at ,whitehall1 ,st4
 ,paul's ,church1 ,covent-,garden1 etc4 
7#aegc-afeb74  ,the famous passage in   
,burke4 ,a ,letter to a ,noble ,lord    
7,works1 ,bohn1 ,v4 #acg74  ,mr4        
,jerdan4 ,william ,jerdan 7#aghb-ahfi71 
editor of the ,tory ,sun 7#ahac-ahag71  
and then associated for many years with 
the ,literary ,gazette4  ,the painful   
warrior4 ,shakespeare1 ,sonnet ,,xxv4   
#aei4 ,what though the radiance4        
,wordsworth1 ,ode1 ,intimations of      
,immortality taken from my sight4444 ,of
 splendour in the grass1 of glory in the
 flower4  ,the burden and the mystery4  
,wordsworth's ,tintern ,abbey4  ,the    
worst 444 returns to good4 ,cf4 #8the   
worst returns to laughter1' ,king ,lear1
 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4  ,and bring with   
thee and add to these retired ,leisure4 
,il ,penseroso1 #di4  ,nature to        
advantage drest4 ,pope1 ,essay on       
,criticism1 ,part ,,ii4 #ig4  ,paradise 
of dainty devices4 ,the name given to a 

collection of poems published #aegf and 
various times later4  ,the ,frenchman's 
darling4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,,iv4     
#gfe4  #afa4 ,with glistering spires4   
,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #eej4  ,low     
farms and poor pelting villages4 ,king  
,lear1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4  #afb4 ,but  
let thy spiders4 ,king ,richard ,,ii41  
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b treacherous feet 444
 thy sovereign's enemies4  ,bear the    
beating of so strong a passion4 ,twelfth
 ,night1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4            
,,chapter ,,xi  ,november #b4 ,numbered 
,,xii4  #afc4 ,i also am a painter4 ,see
 ,vasari's ,lives 7ed4 ,blashfield and  
,hopkins71 ,,iii4 #cb1 note #bh4        
,roubilliac4 ,louis ,francis ,roubilliac
 7d4 #agfb74 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the      
,plain ,speaker1 p4 #hi and note        
thereto4  #afd4 ,bernini4 ,giovanni     
,lorenzo ,bernini 7#aeih-afhj71 painter1
 sculptor1 and architect1 the ,michael  
,angelo of his day4  ,and when ,i think 
that his immortal wings4 ,heaven and    
,earth1 ,part ,i4 ,scene #a4  #afe4     

,thinly scattered to make up a shew4    
,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4   
,the ,chevalier ,canova4 ,antonio       
,canova1 ,venetian sculptor 7#ageg-ahbb7
 was commissioned by the ,roman         
,government in #ahae1 after the fall of 
the ,napoleonic ,empire1 to recover the 
art treasures that had been taken to    
,france4  ,note4 ,he heard it4 ,childe  
,harold's ,pilgrimage1 ,canto ,,iv4     
#ada4  #aff4 ,vestris4 ,lucia ,elizabeth
 ,bartolozzi1 ,madame ,vestris          
7#agig-ahef71 the famous actress1       
subsequently wife of the younger        
,mathews4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 ,a ,view of 
the ,english ,stage1 p4 #cbg and note4  
#afg4 ,razzi4 ,giovanni ,antonio dei    
,razzi of ,piedmont 7#adgg-aedi74       
,cortot4 ,jean ,pierre ,cortot          
7#aghg-ahdc74 ,the ,virgin and ,child   
was painted for the ,cathedral of       
,arras4  ,,page  #afg4 ,espercieux4     
,jean ,joseph ,espercieux 7#ageh-ahdj74 
,chaudet4 ,antoine ,denis ,chaudet      
7#agfc-ahaj74  #afh4 ,gayrard4 ,raymond 

,gayrard 7#aggg-aheh74                  
,,chapter ,,xii  ,november #d4 ,numbered
 ,,xiii  #agj4 ,the upturned eyes of    
wondering mortals4 ,romeo and ,juliet1  
,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,his ,devin du     
,village4 ,rousseau's opera 7#agec71 now
 best known because of the air in it    
called #8,rousseau's ,dream4'  #aga4    
,derivis4 ,henri ,etienne ,drivis       
7#aghj-ahef71 operatic singer1 renowned 
for his powerful bass voice4  ,it is my 
vice to spy into abuses4 ,othello1 ,act 
,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  #agc4 ,non satis est   
pulchra poemata esse1 dulcia sunto4     
,horace1 ,ars ,poet41 #ii4  #agd4       
,madame ,le ,gallois4                   
,amlie-,marie-,antoinette ,legallois1   
born #ahjd4 ,she was a favourite dancer 
for many years1 and retired about #ahci4
  ,nina4 ,an ,italian opera1 produced at
 ,naples1 ,may #aghg4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4  
,the ,plain ,speaker1 p4 #cbe4  ,oh for 
a beaker full of the warm ,south4       
,keats1 ,ode to a ,nightingale4  ,gazza 
,ladra4 ,a comic opera by ,rossini1     

produced #ahag4  ,mombelli4 ,esther     
,mombelli 7b4 #agid74  ,pellegrini4     
,flix ,pellegrini 7#aggd-ahcb74  #age4  
,the ,maid and the ,magpie4 ,see vol4   
,,vii4 ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage1 
pp4 #bdd1 #bgi4                         
,,chapter ,,xiii  ,april #e1 #ahbe4     
,numbered ,,xiv  ,note4 ,madame ,pasta4 
,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1  
pp4 #cbd1 et seq4  #agf4 ,in summer     
shade yield him1 in winter fire4 ,pope1 
,ode on ,solitude4  ,maritorneses4 ,from
 the name of the servant wench in ,don  
,quixote1 who had hair like a horse's   
tail4  #agg4 ,a thing of life4 ,byron's 
,corsair1 ,canto ,i4 #c4  ,fit for speed
 succinct4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #fdc4
  ,mark how a plain tale shall put them 
down4 #a ,king ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,ii4 
,sc4 #d4  #agh4 ,dr4 ,s4 ,dr4 ,stoddart4
 ,see ante1 note to p4 #adb4  ,famous   
poet's pen4 ,cf4 ,spenser's ,verses to  
the ,earl of ,essex4  #ahb4 ,m4         
,martine's ,death of ,socrates4         
,alphonse-,marie-,louis de ,prat de     

,lamartine's 7#agia-ahfi7 work was      
published in #ahbc4  ,a nation of       
shopkeepers4 ,see vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round  
,table1 note to p4 #aej4  ,m4 de la     
,place4 ,pierre ,antoine de la ,place   
7#agjg-agic7 translated ,tom ,jones4    
,the third edition of #agea is in the   
,british ,museum4  #ahc4 ,l4 ,h4 ,leigh 
,hunt4                                  
,,chapter ,,xiv  ,april #f4 ,numbered   
,,xv  ,devoutly to be wished4 ,hamlet1  
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  #ahd4 ,honest     
sonsie bawsont face4 ,burns1 ,the ,twa  
,dogs4  ,the icy fang and season's      
difference4 ,as ,you ,like it1 ,act     
,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook4   
,theodore ,edward ,hook 7#aghh-ahda71   
novelist and political writer1 the      
,lucian ,gay of #8,coningsby1' and      
editor of the ,tory #8,john ,bull'      
newspaper4  ,,page  #ahf4 ,here was     
sympathy4 ,the ,merry ,wives of         
,windsor1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,de      
,stutt--,tracey's #8,idologie4' ,antoine
 ,louis ,claude ,comte ,destutt de      

,tracy's 7#aged-ahcf71 lmens d',idologie
 was published in #ahag-ahah4  ,mignet's
 ,french ,revolution4                   
,franois-,auguste-,marie ,mignet's      
7#agif-ahhd7 ,histoire de la ,rvolution 
,franaise was published in #ahbd4       
,sayings and ,doings4 ,nine novels of   
,theodore ,hook1 published #ahbf-ahbi4  
,irving's ,orations4 ,probably ,edward  
,irving's ,four ,orations for the       
,oracles of ,god1 published in #ahbc1 a 
third edition of which was issued in the
 following year4 ,cf4 vol4 iv4 ,the     
,spirit of the ,age1 p4 #bbh4  ,the     
,paris edition of #8,table ,talk4' ,see 
vol4 ,,vi4 ,bibliographical ,note to    
,table ,talk4  #ahg4 ,note4 ,mr4        
,canning's #8faithlessness4' ,he had the
 reputation for preferring devious      
paths4 #8,i said of him 8that his       
mind's-eye squinted10' wrote ,croker to 
,lord ,brougham1 ,march #ahci4 ,see the 
,croker ,papers1 vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #ceb4    
,note4 ,like that ensanguined sanguine  
flower4 ,lycidas1 #ajf4  ,note4         

,francesco ,guicciardini's 7#adhc-aedj71
 ,history of ,italy from #adid-aecb4    
,note4 ,enrico ,caterino ,davila        
7#aegf-afca7 of ,padua1 author of a     
,history of the ,civil ,wars of ,france4
  #aij4 ,the merit of the death of      
,hotspur4 #a ,king ,henry ,,iv41 ,act   
,v4 ,sc4 #d4  ,he who relished4 i4e41   
,rousseau4  ,the ,magdalen ,muse of ,mr4
 ,moore4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain   
,speaker1 p4 #cfh4  #aia4 ,where ,alps  
o'er on ,alps arise4 ,pope1 ,essay on   
,criticism1 ,,ii4 #cb4  ,this fortress1 
built by nature4 ,king ,richard ,,ii41  
,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,nodded to him4 ,a 
,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,,iii4 
,sc4 #a4  #aic4 ,hemskirk4 ,maerten van 
,veen of ,heemskerk1 near ,haarlem      
7#adih-aegd71 a follower of ,michael    
,angelo4  ,kean4 ,edmund ,kean          
7#aghg-ahcc74  #aid4 ,with cautious     
haste wanton heed and giddy cunning4    
,l',allegro1 #ada4                      
,,chapter ,,xv  ,july #ae4 ,numbered    
,,xvi  #aif4 ,a gentle usher2 ,authority

 husher1 vanity by name4 ,the ,faerie   
,queene ,i41 iv4 #ac4  #aig4 ,teres et  
rotundus4 ,horace1 ,sat4 ,,ii4 #g4      
,spagnoletto4 ,josef or ,jusepe de      
,ribera1 otherwise ,lo ,spagnoletto     
7#aehh-afef71 of ,spanish birth1 whose  
chief work was done in ,naples4 ,his    
subjects are generally delineations of  
scourgings and other scenes of torture4 
,see ante1 note to p4 #gj4  #bjj4 ,with 
marriageable arms4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 
#bag4  ,to-morrow to fresh fields woods4
 ,lycidas1 #aic4  ,mr4 ,crabbe4 ,george 
,crabbe 7#aged-ahcb74  #bjb4 ,serious in
 mortality4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4   
#c4  #bjc4 ,methought she looked at     
us--,so everyone believes that sees a   
,duchess6--,,old ,,play4 ,perhaps       
,hazlitt had in mind the following lines
 from ,middleton's ,women ,beware       
,women1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4               
,,bian4 #8,did not the duke look up8    
methought he saw us4           ,,mother4
 ,that's every one's conceit that sees a
 duke4'  ,mengs4 ,anton ,rafael ,mengs  

7#agbh-aggi71 of ,bohemian birth1 best  
known by his fresco paintings4  ,,page  
#bjd4 ,the sense aches at them4         
,othello1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4  #bje4    
,john of ,bologna4 ,born at ,douai about
 #aebd1 died #afjh1 the greatest        
,italian sculptor1 architect1 and worker
 in bronze1 after the death of ,michael 
,angelo4  ,professor ,mezzofanti4       
,joseph ,caspar ,mezzofanti             
7#agga-ahdh71 who was created ,cardinal 
in #ahch1 and who claimed to be able to 
express himself in seventy-eight        
languages4  ,giotto4 ,giotto di ,bondone
 7#abff-gf--accg71 the inspirer of      
naturalistic painting in ,italy4        
,ghirlandaio4 ,domenico ,bigordi        
7#addi-adid71 generally called          
,ghirlandaio1 the ,garland-maker 7his   
father was a goldsmith71 one of the     
greatest artists in his time1 and the   
teacher of ,michael ,angelo4  #bjf4     
,note4 ,dr4 ,gall4 ,john ,joseph ,gall1 
the phrenologist 7#ageh-ahbh74 ,see vol4
 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 pp4 #ag et

 seq4 and #acg et seq4  #bjg4 ,by their 
works fruits4 ,s4 ,matthew vii4 #bj4    
,,chapter ,,xvi  ,july #bb4 ,numbered   
,,xvii  ,and when she spake4 ,the       
,faerie ,queene1 ,,ii41 ,,ii4 #bd4      
#bji4 ,cloud-clapt4 ,cf4 #8,cloud-capp'd
 towers4' ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4
 #a4  #baa4 ,my friend ,l4 ,h4 ,leigh   
,hunt4  ,the rival families of the      
,gerardeschi and the ----4 ,the missing 
word should be ,visconti4  ,enriched4   
,burns1 ,tam o' ,shanter1 #af4  #bab4   
,enchants the world4 ,thomson1 ,the     
,seasons1 ,summer1 #acdg4  ,lord        
,burghersh4 ,john ,fane1 eleventh ,earl 
of ,westmorland 7#aghd-ahei7 was        
appointed minister plenipotentiary to   
,florence in #ahad4  #bad4 ,alien ,bill4
 ,in consequence of the flight from     
,france during the ,revolution1 ,alien  
,bills were passed in #agib-agic giving 
the crown power to banish foreigners4   
,molire's ,tartuffe4 ,for the ordinance 
of the ,archbishop of ,paris see ,,mm4  
,despois and ,mesnard's edition of      

,molire1 vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #cbb4  ,fishy    
fume4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #afh4      
#bae4 ,paved with good intentions4 ,an  
old saying3 ,hazlitt probably had in    
mind ,dr4 ,johnson's use of it4 7,see   
,boswell's ,johnson1 ed4 ,g4 ,b4 ,hill1 
vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #cfj47  #baf4 ,omne tulit 
punctum4 ,horace1 ,ars ,poet41 #cdc4    
#bah4 ,otiosa ternitas4 ,milton's ,sylv1
 ,de ,ide ,platonic ,quemadmodum        
,aristoteles ,intellexit4  ,redi4       
,francesco ,redi 7#afbf-afih71 ,italian 
physician1 naturalist and poet4 ,he     
helped in the compilation of the        
dictionary of the ,academia ,della      
,crusca4 ,see ,masson's ,life of        
,milton1 #ahha1 vol4 ,i4 p4 #ghf4       
,,chapter ,,xvii  ,july #bf4 ,numbered  
,,xviii  #bai4 ,bandinello4 ,bartolommeo
 ,bandinelli1 sculptor1 of ,florence    
7#adic-aefj74  ,the ,perseus of         
,benvenuto ,cellini4 ,see ,roscoe's     
translation of ,cellini's ,memoirs1     
chapters #da1 #dc1 etc4  #bbj4 ,men of  
no mark or likelihood4 #a ,king ,henry  

,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  #bba4 ,even
 in death there is animation too4 ,cf4  
#8,that were a theme might animate the  
dead1' ,cowper1 ,table ,talk1 #bjb4     
,,page  #bba4 ,forsyth4 ,joseph ,forsyth
 7#agfc-ahae71 whose ,remarks on        
,antiquities1 ,arts1 and ,letters1      
during an ,excursion in ,italy in the   
years #ahjb and #ahjc1 were published in
 #ahac4  #bbb4 ,elegant ,extracts4      
,elegant ,extracts in ,prose1 in ,verse1
 and ,epistles1 #aghi1 and often        
reprinted later4 ,compiled by ,vicesimus
 ,knox 7#ageb-ahba71 ,master of         
,tonbridge ,school1 #aggh-ahab4  #bbc4  
,trim's story of the sausage-maker's    
wife4 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,book ,,ii4    
#ag4  ,labour of love4 #a ,thessalonians
 i4 #c4  ,as ,rousseau prided himself4  
,les ,confessions1 ,partie ,,ii4 ,livre 
ix4  #bbd4 ,just washed in the dew4 ,the
 ,taming of the ,shrew1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 
#a4  ,strange child-worship4 ,lamb1     
,lines on the celebrated picture by     
,leonardo da ,vinci2 called the ,virgin 

of the ,rocks4  ,luini4 ,bernardino     
,luini 7c4 #adfj-gj-;c4 #aecj71 whose   
style so resembles that of ,leonardo da 
,vinci that it is difficult to          
distinguish their works4  #bbe4         
,bronzino4 ,a name applied to a family  
of ,florentine painters1 ,angiolo       
,allori 7#aejb-aegb71 ,alessandro       
,allori 7#aece-afjg71 and ,cristofano   
,allori 7#aegg-afba74  ,the late ,mr4   
,opie4 ,john ,opie 7#agfa-ahjg71        
portrait painter4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 ,mr4  
,northcote's ,conversations1 p4 #cdc and
 note4  ,a thing of life4 ,byron's      
,corsair1 ,canto ,i4 #c4  #bbf4         
,deliberation sits and public care4     
,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #cjc4  ,julio    
,romano4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #ah4     
,andrea del ,sarto4 ,see ante1 note to  
p4 #be4  ,giorgioni4 ,see ante1 note to 
p4 #bf4  ,schiavoni4 8,andrea ,meldolla1
 or ,il ,schiavone 7#aebb-aehb71 of     
,dalmatian birth1 a follower of ,titian4
  ,cigoli4 ,lodovico ,cardi1 otherwise  
called ,cigoli 7#aeei-afac71 ,florentine

 painter1 a follower of ,andrea del     
,sarto and ,michael ,angelo4  ,fra      
,bartolomeo4 ,bartolommeo di ,pagholo   
del ,fattorino1 generally called ,fra   
,bartolommeo 7#adge-aeag74 ,some of his 
earliest sketches he committed to the   
flames under the influence of           
,savonarola in #adhi and1 later1 became 
a monk4  ,shardborne beetle4 ,macbeth1  
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,lady ,morgan4    
,sydney ,owenson1 ,lady ,morgan         
7#aghc8-ahei71 the novelist4 ,her ,life 
of ,salvator ,rosa was published in     
#ahbc2 see ,hazlitt's review of it1 vol4
 ,x41 ,edinburgh ,review ,articles1 pp4 
#bgf et seq4                            
,,chapter ,,xviii  ,july #bi4 ,numbered 
,,xix  #bbi4 ,old ,burnet4 ,thomas      
,burnet 7#afce8-agae71 ,master of the   
,charterhouse 7#afhe-agae74 ,see        
,telluris ,theoria ,sacra1 lib4 ,i4 cap4
 #i4  ,a thousand storms1 a thousand    
winters4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher's      
,philaster1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4  #bcb4 ,a 
house that had belonged to ,milton4 ,see

 vol4 ,,iv4 ,the ,spirit of the ,age1   
pp4 #ahi1 #aij and note2 and the        
frontispiece to vol4 ,,iii4             
,,chapter ,,xix  ,august #ab4 ,numbered 
,,xx  #bcd4 ,though ,mr4 ,hobhouse has  
written ,annotations4 ,john ,cam        
,hobhouse1 ,baron ,broughton de ,gifford
 7#aghf-ahfi74 ,see his ,historical     
,illustrations of the ,fourth ,canto of 
#8,childe ,harold1' containing          
,dissertations on the ,ruins of ,rome1  
,,page  and an ,essay on ,italian       
,literature1 #ahah1 and the ,notes to   
the ,canto in ,byron's ,poetical ,works4
  #bcd4 ,he hears it not4 ,byron1       
,childe ,harold1 ,,iv4 cxli4 with sundry
 alterations4  #bcf4 ,so sit two ,kings 
of ,brentford4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,i4 
#gh4  #bcg4 ,youthful poets dream of    
fancy when they love4 ,rowe's ,fair     
,penitent1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,julia 
de ,roubigne4 ,a novel by ,henry        
,mackenzie1 the #8,man of ,feeling1'    
7#agde-ahca71 published #aggg4  ,miss   
,milner4 ,the heroine of ,mrs4          

,elizabeth ,inchbald's 7#agec-ahba7     
novel1 ,a ,simple ,story 7#agia74  #bch4
 ,guercino4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #be4  
,garofolo4 ,benvenuto ,tisi1 called     
,garofolo from his birth-place          
7#adha-aeei74 ,his best works are to be 
seen at ,ferrara4  #bci4 ,gaspar        
,poussin4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #ad4    
,ariosto4 ,ludovico ,ariosto            
7#adgd-aecc71 the author of ,orlando    
,furioso4  ,pietro da ,cartona4 ,pietro 
,berrettini of ,cartoni 7#aeif-affi74   
,the ceiling of the grand saloon of the 
,palazzo ,barberini is his2 it is       
generally recognised as one of the      
greatest accomplishments of decorative  
art4  #bdj4 ,andrea ,sacchi4 ,a ,roman  
painter 7d4 #affa74 ,his greatest work  
is the #8,st4 ,romuald with his ,monks' 
in the ,vatican4                        
,,chapter ,,xx  #bdb4 ,scribe4 ,eugne   
,scribe 7#agia-ahfa74  ,cribb4 ,tom     
,cribb 7#agha-ahdh71 the champion       
pugilist4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 ,the ,spirit  
of the ,age1 note to p4 #bbc4  #bdd4 ,a 

tub to a whale4 ,the tradition is an old
 one1 but ,hazlitt may have had in mind 
the ,preface to ,swift's ,tale of a     
,tub4 ,the allusion is undoubtedly to   
,canning's recognition of the           
independence of the ,spanish ,american  
,colonies in #ahbc4  ,fnum in cornu4    
,horace1 ,sat4 ,i4 iv4 #cc4  #bde4      
,lily-livered4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4  
#c and ,king ,lear1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 
,but that two-handed engine at the door4
 ,lycidas1 #acj4  #bdf4 ,finds a taint  
in the ,liberal4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the  
,plain ,speaker1 p4 #cgi and note4  ,mr4
 ,waithman4 ,robert ,waithman           
7#agfd-ahcc71 linen-draper1 pamphleteer1
 ,lord ,mayor of ,london 7#ahbc71 and   
,m4,p4 for ,london 7#ahah-ahbj1         
#ahbf-ahcc74  ,dr4 ,e4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4     
,hazlitt states that the name should be 
,edwards4 ,this incident forms a        
singular parallel with ,johnson's       
meeting with his fellow-collegian1      
,edwards4 ,see ,boswell1 ed4 ,g4 ,b4    
,hill1 ,,iii4 #cjb et seq4  ,note4 ,a   

,mr4 ,law4 ,probably a son of ,thomas   
,law 7#agei-ahcd71 of ,washington1      
writer on finance1 whose brother was    
,edward ,law1 first ,baron ,ellenborough
 7#agej-ahah74  #bdg4 ,the ,john ,bull4 
,theodore ,hook's paper4 ,see vol4      
,,iv41 ,the ,spirit of the ,age1 p4 #bag
 and note4  ,mr4 ,shee's tragedy4 ,sir  
,martin ,arthur ,shee 7#agfi-ahej71 one 
of the founders of the ,british         
,institution1 portrait painter1 and     
,president of the ,royal ,academy1      
#ahcj-ej4 ,see ante1 p4 #dcd4 ,his play1
 ,alasco1 on the partition of ,poland1  
was accepted by ,charles ,kemble for    
,covent ,garden1 but prohibited by the  
examiner of plays1 ,george ,colman the  
younger4 ,it was published in #ahbd4    
,to be direct and honest is not safe4   
,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,can    
these things be4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4  
,sc4 #d4  ,,page  #bdg4 ,note4 ,mr4     
,barrow4 ,sir ,john ,barrow 7#agfd-ahdh7
 was second secretary of the ,admiralty1
 #ahjd-ahjf and #ahjg-ahde4 ,croker of  

course was the other secretary of the   
,admiralty as well as a contributor to  
the ,quarterly4  #bdh4 ,very stuff o'   
the conscience4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 
#b4  ,note4 ,chief ,justice ,holt4 ,sir 
,john ,holt 7#afdb-agaj71 ,lord ,chief  
,justice of the ,king's ,bench          
7#afhi-agaj71 the ,verus of ,the        
,tatler4 ,see ,no4 #ad1 ,may #ab1 #agji4
  #bdi4 ,man seldom is4                 
#8,man never ,is1 but always ,to be     
blest4'                                 
,pope1 ,essay on ,man1 ,i4 #if4         
,there's no such thing4 ,merry ,wives of
 ,windsor1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  #bej4  
,m4 ,beyle 444 ,de l',amour4 ,marie     
,henri ,beyle's 7#aghc-ahdb7 work was   
published in #ahbb4 ,he is better known 
under his pseudonym of ,stendhal4 ,his  
best works are ,le ,rouge et le ,noir   
7#ahcj7 and ,la ,chartreuse de ,parme   
7#ahci74                                
,,chapter ,,xxi  ,september #f4         
,numbered ,,xxii  ,number ,,xxiv41      
,sept4 #i1 begins with the paragraph    

#8,tivoli is an enchanting1' etc41 on p4
 #beg4  #bec4 ,native to the manner     
here4              #8,native here1 and  
to the manner born4'                    
,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #d4  ,forsyth4   
,see ante1 note to p4 #bba4 ,he speaks  
of the butcher sticking gold-leaf on his
 mutton' 7ed4 #ahac1 p4 #bih74  #bed4   
,maria ,cosway4 ,maria ,cecilia ,louisa 
,cosway 7fl4 #ahbj71 miniature painter1 
of ,florentine birth and ,english       
extraction4 ,she married ,richard       
,cosway in #agha4  ,charlemagne4 ,lucien
 ,bonaparte 7#agge-ahdj71 ,napoleon's   
second brother1 published his epic in   
#ahad4 ,its full title was ,charlemagne 
ou ,l',eglise sauve4 ,hazlitt reviewed  
it in ,the ,champion1 ,dec4 #be1 #ahad4 
,see in ,lockhart's ,scott 7#ast ed41   
vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #cea71 the letter from   
,scott to ,morritt1 #bfth ,september    
#ahaa1 respecting ,scott's refusal to   
translate the poem4 ,an ,english version
 by the ,rev4 ,s4 ,butler and the ,rev4 
,f4 ,hodgson was published1 apparently1 

in #ahae4  #bee4 ,poor ,bowdich4 ,thomas
 ,edward ,bowdich 7#agia-ahbd74  ,the   
primrose path of dalliance4 ,hamlet1    
,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4  #beg4 ,where all is  
strength below4 ,dryden1 ,epistle to    
,congreve4  #beh4 ,lord ,byron has      
described the ,fall of ,terni4 ,childe  
,harold's ,pilgrimage1 ,canto ,,iv4 #gj4
  ,poured it out as plain4 ,pope1 ,imit4
 of ,hor41 ,sat4 ,i4 #ea-b4  #bfj4 ,sees
 and is seen4 ,an old phrase4           
,cf4 #8,i hadde the better leyser for to
 pleye1           ,and for to see1 and  
eek for to be seye           ,of lusty  
folk4'                 ,chaucer1 ,the   
,wife of ,bath's ,prologue1 l4 #eea-c4  
#bfb4 ,pietro ,perugino4 ,pietro        
,vannucci1 generally called ,pietro     
,perugino 7#addf-aebc71 who had ,raphael
 for a pupil4  ,honest as the skin4     
,much ,ado ,about ,nothing1 ,act ,,iii4 
,sc4 #e4                                
,,chapter ,,xxii  ,september #ac4       
,numbered ,,xxv  ,,page  #bfe4 ,the busy
 hum of men4 ,l',allegro1 #aah4  ,where 

buttress wall and tower4 ,altered from  
,peter ,bell1 #hef-fj4  #bff4 ,palladio4
 ,andrea ,palladio1 ,italian writer and 
architect 7#aejh-aehj74  #bfg4 ,lord    
,byron and ,lady ,morgan4 ,see note to  
,the ,two ,foscari4  ,and ,ocean smil'd4
        ,cf4 #8,and ,ocean1 #8mid his   
uproar wild1           ,speaks safety to
 his ,island-,child4'                   
,coleridge1 ,ode on the ,departing      
,year1 #abi-acj4  #bfh4 ,and now from   
out the watery floor4 ,barry ,cornwall1 
,a ,vision1 ll4 #ei-ge4                 
,,chapter ,,xxiii  ,september #ae4      
,numbered ,,xxvi  ,from #8,the ,picture 
of the ,assumption1' p4 #bgc1 to the end
 of this chapter1 formed ,no4 ,,xxviii41
 ,sept4 #bc1 in the newspaper1 the      
,sept4 #ae article concluding with what 
is now the first paragraph of ,chapter  
,,xxiv4  #bfi4 ,canaletti4 ,antonio     
,canal1 or ,canaletto 7#afig-agfh71     
painter of ,venetian landscapes and     
,london views4  ,longhena4 ,baldassare  
,longhena1 ,venetian architect and      

sculptor 7died after #afhj74            
,sansovino4 ,andrea ,contucci1 otherwise
 ,sansovino 7#adfj-aebi7 one of the     
greatest sculptors of the ,renaissance4 
#bgb4 ,where no crude surfeit reigns4   
,comus1 #dhj4  ,foregone conclusions4   
,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4  ,in my  
mind's eye4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4  
,,chapter ,,xxiv  ,see ante1 note to p4 
#bfh4 ,from #8we reached ,verona' to the
 end of the chapter formed ,no4         
,,xxvii41 ,sept4 #bj4  #bgg4 ,motes that
 people the sun-beam4 ,il ,penseroso1   
#h4  #bgh4 ,mr4 ,beyle4 ,see ante1 note 
to p4 #bej4  ,a pyramid of sweetmeats4  
,see ,richter's ,titan1 vol4 ,i4 chap1  
i41 where #8the blooming pyramid1 the   
island1' is described in #8heavy ,german
 conceits4'  #bgi4 ,star-ypointing      
pyramids4 ,milton1 ,on ,shakespeare4    
,chiffinch entertained ,peveril of the  
,peak4 ,see vol4 ,,ii4 chap4 viii4      
#bhj4 ,chaos and old ancient ,night4    
,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #igj4            
,,chapter ,,xxv  ,november #i4 ,numbered

 ,,xxviii  #bha4 ,in spite of ,mr4      
,burke's philippic4 ,a ,letter to a     
member of the ,national ,assembly1      
#agia4  ,mr4 ,moore's late ,rhymes on   
the ,road4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain 
,speaker1 p4 #cfe1 et seq4  ,mais vois  
la rapidit de cet astre4 ,la ,nouvelle  
,hlose1 ,premire ,partie1 ,lettre       
,,xxvi4  #bhb4 ,forbade us to interpret 
them such4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4  
,simplex munditiis4 ,horace1 ,odes ,i4  
#e4  ,,page  #bhc4 ,the pauper lad4 ,see
 vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 pp4  
#cff-g4  ,fables for the ,holy          
,alliance4 ,published #ahbc4  ,secretary
 to the ,venetian ,ambassador4 ,rousseau
 was ,secretary to the ,french          
,ambassador to ,venice1 ,m4 de          
,montaign1 from ,august #agdc to ,august
 #agdd4  ,milton's house4 ,see ante1    
note to p4 #bcb4  ,mr4 ,washington      
,irvine4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain   
,speaker1 p4 #caa and note4  #bhd4 ,mr4 
,hobhouse 444 ,westminster4 ,john ,cam  
,hobhouse was elected ,m4,p4 for        

,westminster in #ahbj4  #bhe4 ,upland   
swells4 #8,the grassy uplands' gentle   
swells4' ,coleridge1 ,ode to the        
,departing ,year1 #abe4  ,the peasant's 
nest4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,i4 #bbg and 
#bdg4  #bhg4 ,oh6 for a lodge in some   
vast wilderness4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1   
,,ii4 #b3 contiguity4  ,and disappointed
 still4       ,cf4 #8,and still they    
dream that they shall still succeed1    
,and still are disappointed4'           
,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,,iii4 #abg4  ,but 
the season's difference4 ,as ,you ,like 
,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,apparent     
queen of night4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4  
#fjh4                                   
,,chapter ,,xxvi  ,november #ad4        
,numbered ,,xxix  ,from #8,we had an    
excellent supper1' p4 #bic1 formed ,no4 
,,xxx41 ,november #ae1 together with the
 first part of ,chapter ,,xxvii4 to     
#8detached points and places1' on p4    
#bih4  #bia4 ,nor ,alps nor ,apennines4 
,john ,dennis1 ,ode on the ,battle of   
,aghrim1 ,st4 #c4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 ,table

 ,talk1 note to p4 #ff4  #bib4 ,built a 
fortress for itself4 ,king ,richard     
,,ii41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  #bid4 ,all  
silver white4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1  
,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4  ,with kindliest      
interchange4 ,cf4 #8with kindliest      
change4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 #ccf1 and 
#8sweet interchange4' ,ibid41 ,,ix4     
#aae4  ,live a man forbid4 ,macbeth1    
,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4                       
,,chapter ,,xxvii  ,see ante1 note to p4
 #bhh4 ,from #8,basle' on p4 #bih to the
 end is the article for ,november #af1  
headed #8,concluded4'  #bif4 ,in shape  
and station gesture proudly eminent4    
,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #eij4  ,torrents of
 delight4 ,la ,nouvelle ,hlose1         
,quatrime ,partie1 ,lettre ,,vi4  #big4 
,reveries of a ,solitary ,walker4       
,written after ,october #aggf4  #bii4   
,cologne 444 ,rubens4 ,rubens was born  
at ,siegen in ,westphalia4 ,his parents 
came to ,cologne when he was a year old4
  ,striking fat its thick rotundity4    
,king ,lear1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  #cja4

 ,paul ,potter4 ,see ante1 p4 #fc and   
note4  #cjb4 ,with eyes of youth4 ,merry
 ,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4   
#b4  #cjc4 ,an ,english ,minister       
handing the keys4 ,perhaps ,hazlitt     
refers to ,john ,fane1 eleventh ,earl of
 ,westmorland 7#aghd-ahei71 known as    
,lord ,burghersh until #ahda1 who signed
 the ,convention of ,caza ,lanza by     
which ,naples was restored to the       
,bourbons4 ,he was sent on a mission to 
,naples1 #ahbe1 to congratulate ,francis
 ,i4 on succeeding his father to the    
throne of the ,two ,sicilies1 the       
,constitution of which country had been 
abrogated by ,ferdinand ,i4 in #ahba1   
and a reign of despotism substituted for
 it4                    ,,miscellaneous 
,,essays ,,on ,,the ,,fine ,,arts  ,,on 
,,haydon',s ,,solomon  ,from ,the       
,morning ,chronicle1 ,may #d and #e1    
#ahad4 ,see ,memoirs of ,w4 ,hazlitt1   
vol4 ,i4 p4 #baa1 for an account of the 
circumstances under which this article  
was written4  ,,page  #cji4 ,glover4    

,john ,glover1 landscape painter in     
water-colours 7#agfg-ahdi74 ,he was     
,president of the ,society of ,painters 
in ,water-,colours in #ahae1 and was one
 of the founders of the ,society of     
,british ,artists in #ahbd4  ,cristall4 
,joshua ,cristall 7#agfg-ahdg71         
china-dealer's apprentice in            
,rotherhithe1 later ,president of the   
,society of ,painters in                
,water-,colours4  ,de ,wint4 ,peter de  
,wint 7#aghd-ahdi71 of ,dutch extraction
 and ,staffordshire birth1 a pupil of   
,john ,raphael ,smith4 ,his subjects are
 chiefly from the flat lands of         
,lincolnshire4  ,mr4 ,richter4 ,henry   
,james ,richter 7#aggb-aheg71 an        
exhibitor at the ,water-,colour ,society
 from #ahac onwards4  ,disjecta disjecti
 membra poet4 ,horace1 ,sat4 ,i4 #d4    
,,the ,,catalogue ,,raisonn ,,of ,,the  
,,british ,,institution  ,from ,the     
,examiner1 ,november #c1 #ahaf4 ,see    
vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round ,table1 pp4 #adj et
 seq4 and notes thereto4 ,the article   

here reprinted is the first of the      
series of three #8,literary ,notices'   
dealing with the ,catalogue4 ,instead of
 reprinting the second and third of     
these papers entirely as promised in    
vol4 ,i41 it has been deemed sufficient 
to insert here the passages omitted from
 the two articles as given in their     
,round ,table form4  ,,page  ,damned in 
a fair face4 ,cf4 #8damned in a fair    
wife4' ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4      
,madame de ----4 ,stal4  ,lived in the  
rainbow4 ,comus1 #bih4  #cab4 ,in the   
presence of these divine guests4 ,an    
erratum in the following number of ,the 
,examiner 7,nov4 #aj1 #ahaf71 states    
that these words should precede #8the   
nauseous tricks1' instead of preceding  
#8like a blackguard4'  #cac4 ,sent to   
their account4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4   
#e4  #cad4 ,to the ,jews a              
stumbling-block4 #a ,cor4 i4 #bc4  ,a   
quantity of barren spectators4 ,hamlet1 
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,hold the mirror  
up to nature4 ,ibid41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4  

#b4  ,the glass of fashion4 ,ibid41 ,act
 ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,numbers without      
number4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #cdf4   
#cae4 ,lavater4 ,johann ,kaspar ,lavater
 7#agda-ahja71 the student of           
physiognomy4 ,holcroft translated his   
,physiognomische ,fragmente zur         
,befrderung der ,menschen-,kenntniss und
 ,menschenliebe 7#agge-aggh7 into       
,english 7#agic74 ,see vol4 ,,ii4 ,the  
,life of ,thomas ,holcroft1 p4 #aae4    
,spurzheim4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain
 ,speaker1 pp4 #ag et seq41 and #acg et 
seq4  ,mr4 ,perry of the ,chronicle4    
,james ,perry 7#agef-ahba71 proprietor  
and editor of ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 
,see vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,life of ,thomas   
,holcroft1 p4 #hi1 etc4  ,with most     
admired disorder4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 
,sc4 #d4  ,,page  #caf4 ,to let ,i dare 
not4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #g4        
,service sweat for duty4 ,as ,you ,like 
,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4  #cag4 ,this1  
this is the unkindest blow most         
unkindest cut of all4 ,julius ,caesar1  

,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,own gained       
knowledge4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4  
,turner4 ,joseph ,mallard ,william      
,turner 7#agge-ahea74  ,that's a feeling
 disputation4 #a ,king ,henry ,,iv41    
,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4  #cah4 ,to some men
 their graces serve them but as enemies4
 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act4 ,,ii4 ,sc4   
#c4  ,the ,second of the ,catalogue     
,raisonn papers was published in ,the   
,examiner1 ,november #aj1 #ahaf1 and    
proceeds as in ,the ,round ,table to    
#8the marring of ,art is the making of  
the ,academy' 7vol4 ,i4 p4 #adb72 then  
add3 #8,he would have the ,directors    
keep the old ,masters under1 by playing 
off upon them the same tricks of        
background1 situation1 c4 which they    
play off upon one another's pictures so 
successfully at the ,academy ,great     
,room4 ,note4 ,the ,academicians having 
out-done nature at home1 wait till their
 pictures are hung up at the ,academy to
 outdo one another4 ,when they know     
their exact situation in the ,great     

,room1 they set to work with double     
diligence to paint up to their next     
neighbours1 or to keep them under4      
,sometimes they leave nearly the whole  
unfinished1 that they may have a more ad
 libitum opportunity of annoying their  
friends1 and of shining at their        
expense4--had placed a landscape1       
consisting of one enormous sheet of     
white lead1 like the clean white napkin 
depending from the chin to the knees of 
the ,saturday night's customers in a    
barber's shop1 under a whole length of a
 lady by ----1 in a white chalk dress1  
which made his ,cleopatra look like a   
dowdy4 ,our little lively knight of the 
brush goes me round the room1 crying    
out1 8,who has any vermilion1 who has   
any ,indian yellow80 and presently      
returns1 and by making his whole length 
one red and yellow daub1 like the       
drop-curtain at ,covent-,garden1 makes  
the poor ,academician's landscape look  
8pale as his shirt40#fb ,such is the    
history of modern ,art4 ,it is no wonder

 that 8these fellows1 who thus o'er-do  
,termagant10#fc should look with horror 
at the sobriety of ancient ,art4 ,it is 
no wonder that they carry their         
contempt1 hatred1 and jealousy of one   
another1 into the ,art itself4'  ,after 
the end of the first ,round ,table paper
 7#8,british ,growth and ,manufacture'7 
add3 #8,to what absurdities may we be   
reduced by the malice of folly6 ,the    
light of ,art1 like that of nature1     
shines on all alike2 and its benefit1   
like that of the sun1 is in being seen  
and felt4 ,our ,catalogue-makers1 like  
the puffers to the ,gas-light ,company1 
consider it only as a matter of trade1  
or what they can get by the sale and    
monopoly of it2 they would extinguish   
all of it that does not come through the
 miserable chinks and crannies of their 
patriotic sympathy1 or would confine it 
in the hard unfeeling sides of some body
 corporate1 as ,ariel was shut up in a  
cloven pine by the foul witch ,sycorax4 
,the cabal of ,art in this country would

 keep it on the other side of the       
,channel4 ,they would keep up a         
perpetual quarantine against it as      
infectious4 ,they would subject it to   
new custom-house duties4 ,they would    
create a right of search after all works
 of genuine ,art as contraband4 ,they   
would establish an alien-office#fd under
 the ,royal ,academy1 to send all the   
finest pictures out of the country1 to  
prevent unfair and invidious            
competition4 ,the genius of modern ,art 
does not bathe in the dews of ,castalie1
 but rises like the dirty goddess of    
,gay's ,trivia out of the ,thames1 just 
opposite ,somerset-,house1 and armed    
with a ,grub-street pen in one hand1 and
 a sign-post brush in the other1        
frightens the ,arts from advancing any  
farther4 ,they would thus effectually   
suppress the works of ancient genius and
 the progress of modern taste at one and
 the same time2 and if they did not sell
 their pictures1 would find ease to     
their tortured minds by not seeing      

others admired4'  ,the ,second of the   
,examiner articles includes the first   
paragraph of the second of the ,round   
,table articles and ends with           
#8encouragement of the ,fine ,arts8'    
7vol4 ,i4 p4 #adg74 ,a letter follows1  
signed ,h4 ,r41 protesting against being
 pointed out as the author of the       
,catalogue ,raisonn1 to which the       
following paragraph is added in square  
brackets3--  #8,we insert the above     
letter as in duty bound2 for it is a sad
 thing to labour under the imputation of
 being the author of the                
,catalogue--8that deed without a        
name40#fe ,but we hardly know how to    
reply to our ,correspondent1 unless by  
repeating what ,mr4 ,brumell said of the
 ,regent--8,who is our fat friend80 ,we 
do not know his person or address1 or by
 what marks he identifies himself with  
our description of him--,whether he     
answers to his name as a cheese-curd1 or
 a piece of whitleather1 or as a        
,shrewsbury ,cake2 or as a stocking1 or 

a joint-stool2 or as a little round man1
 or as a fair squab man8 ,if he claims  
any or all of these marks as his        
property1 he is welcome to them4 ,we    
shall believe him4 ,we shall also       
believe him1 when he says he is not the 
anonymous author of the ,catalogue      
,raisonn2 and in that case1 we can have 
no farther fault to find with him1 even 
though he were the beautiful ,albiness4'
  ,the ,third of the ,catalogue ,raisonn
 articles was published in ,the         
,examiner1 ,nov4 #ag1 #ahaf1 and        
proceeds as in ,the ,round ,table with  
the following additions4  ,the quotation
 from ,burke to ,barry 7vol4 ,i4 p4     
#adh7 has the following footnote3--     
#8,yet ,mr4 ,burke knew something of    
,art and of the world4 ,he thought the  
,art should be encouraged for the sake  
of ,artists4 ,they think it should be   
destroyed for their sakes4 ,they would  
cut it up at once1 as the boy did the   
goose with golden eggs4'  ,after such   
heavy drollery 7vol4 ,i4 p4 #aej7 add3  

#8with the stupid1 knowing air of a     
horse-jockey or farrier1 and in the     
right slang of the veterinary art4'     
,after will speak more 7,ibid47 add3    
#8,we concluded our last with some      
remarks on ,claude's landscapes4 ,we    
shall return to them here2 and we would 
ask those who have seen them at the     
,british ,institution1 8,is the general 
effect10' etc4 here ,hazlitt inserted   
the criticism on ,claude he used later  
in the article on ,fine ,arts for the   
,encyclopdia ,britannica1 see p4 #cid of
 the present volume1 ending with #8,what
 landscape-painter does not feel this of
 ,claude8'  #8,it seems the author of   
the ,catalogue ,raisonn does not2 for he
 thus speaks of him3--  8,david         
,encamped4--,claude4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4      
,carr3--,if it were not for the horrible
 composition of this landscape--the     
tasteless hole in the wall--the tents   
and daddy-long-legs1 whom ,mr4 ,carr has
 christened ,king ,david1 we should be  
greatly offended by its present         

obtrusion on the public2 as it is1 we   
are bound to suppose the possessor sees 
deeper into the mill-stone than         
ourselves2 and if it were politic1 could
 thoroughly explain the matter to our   
satisfaction4 ,be this as it may1 we    
cannot resist expressing our regret at  
the absence of ,claude ,gillee's        
,muses4--,the ,public in general merely 
know1 by tradition1 that this painter   
was a pastry-cook3 had this delectable  
composition to which we now allude been 
brought forward1 they would have had the
 evidence of his practice to confirm it4
 ,it is said to represent ,mount        
,parnassus2 and no one1 who for a moment
 has seen the picture1 can entertain the
 smallest doubt of its having been taken
 from one of his own ,plateaux4 ,the    
figures have all the character and      
drawing which they might be expected to 
derive from a species of twelfth-cake   
casts4 ,the swans are of the truest     
wax-shapes1 while the water bears every 
mark of being done from something as    

right-earnest as that at ,sadler's      
,wells1 and the ,prince's ,fete of      
#ahad40  #8,this is the way in which the
 ,catalogue-writer aids and abets the   
,royal ,academy in the promotion and    
encouragement of the ,fine ,arts in this
 country4 ,now1 what if we were to      
imitate him1 and to say of the 8ablest  
landscape-painter now living10 that4444 
,no1 we will not2 we have blotted out   
the passage after we had written        
it--,because it would be bad wit1 bad   
manners1 and bad reasoning4 ,yet we dare
 be sworn it is as good wit1 as good    
manners1 and as good reasoning1 as the  
wittiest1 the most gentlemanly1 and the 
most rational passage1 in the ,catalogue
 ,raisonn4 ,suppose we were to put forth
 voluntarily such a criticism on one of 
,mr4 ,turner's landscapes8 ,what then8  
we should do a great injustice to an    
able and ingenious man1 and disgrace    
ourselves3 but we should not hurt a     
sentiment1 we should not mar a          
principle1 we should not invade the     

sanctuary of ,art4 ,mr4 ,turner's       
pictures have not1 like ,claude's1      
become a sentiment in the heart of      
,europe2 his fame has not been stamped  
and rendered sacred by the hand of time4
 ,perhaps it never will4#ff  #8,we have 
only another word to add on this very   
lowest of all subjects4 ,the writer     
calls in the cant of morality to his    
aid4 ,he was quite shocked to find      
himself in the company of some female   
relations1 vis--vis with a naked figure 
of ,annibal ,caracci's4 ,yet he thinks  
the ,elgin ,marbles likely to raise the 
morals of the country to a high pitch of
 refinement4 ,good4 ,the fellow is a    
hypocrite too4'  ,instead of #8return8  
nothing#81 the paper ends               
thus3--#8return2 the low buffoonery of a
 mechanic scribbler1 a ,bart'lemy-fair  
puppet-shew1 ,mrs4 ,salmon's ,royal     
,wax-work1 or the exhibition of the     
,royal ,academy1 ,king ,george the      
,third on horseback1 or his son treading
 in his steps on foot1 or ,prince       

,blucher1 or the ,hetman ,platoff1#fg or
 the ,duke with the foolish face1 or the
 great ,plenipotentiary#fh8 ,god save   
the mark6'  ,,west',s ,,picture ,,of    
,,death ,,on ,,the ,,pale ,,horse  ,from
 ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine1 ,december   
#ahag4  ,the full title was--,remarks on
 ,mr4 ,west's ,picture of ,death on the 
,pale ,horse and on his ,descriptive    
,catalogue which accompanies it4  ,,page
  #cah4 ,it sets on a quantity of barren
 spectators4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4  
#b4  ,high endeavour and the glad       
success4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,v4 #ija4 
#cai4 ,so shall my anticipation4        
,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4  #cai4     
,like ,bayes in the #8,rehearsal4' ,a   
farce by ,george ,villiers1 second ,duke
 of ,buckingham1 #afga4  #cbj4 ,spoken  
with authority and not as the scribes4  
,s4 ,mark i4 #bb4  #cba4 ,another enemy 
of the human race4 ,the phrase is       
applied to ,buonaparte4 ,see vol4       
,,viii4 ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage1
 p4 #bhd4  ,grin horrible a ghastly     

smile4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #adf4     
,monarch of the universal world4 ,romeo 
and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  #cbb4
 ,multum abludit imago4 ,horace1 ,sat4  
,,ii4 #c4 #cbj4                         
,,on ,,williams',s ,,views ,,in ,,greece
  ,from ,the ,london ,magazine1 ,may    
#ahbb4  #cbd4 ,mr4 ,hugh ,williams4     
,hugh ,william ,williams 7#aggc-ahbi71  
of a ,welsh family1 but ,scotland was   
his adopted country4 ,his various       
sketches gained him the name of ,grecian
 ,williams4  #cbe4 ,close to the gate4  
,pope1 ,odyssey1 ,book ,,vii41 #adb et  
seq4  #cbf4 ,the last paragraph of the  
essay is a #8,n4,b41' following the     
initials ,w4 ,h4                        
,,on ,,the ,,elgin ,,marbles  ,two      
papers from ,the ,london ,magazine1     
,february and ,may #ahbb4 ,the second   
article began with the paragraph at the 
foot of p4 #cca4 ,on p4 #cdd1 l4 #i from
 foot1 the following sentence in the    
,magazine is inserted after the words   
#8,the ,ilissus or ,river-god'3--#87of  

which we have given a print in a former 
number74' ,the frontispiece to the      
,february number was an engraving of the
 ,ilissus by ,j4 ,shury4  ,in #ahaf     
,hazlitt contributed two #8,literary    
,notices' to ,the ,examiner 7,june #af  
and #cj71 on the ,report from the       
,select ,committee of the ,house of     
,commons on the ,elgin                  
,marbles4--,murray4 ,the second of these
 two #8notices' formed the basis of the 
,london ,magazine article4 ,certain     
paragraphs not given in the later       
,london ,magazine form 7the text adopted
 here7 are given below4 ,the first of   
,the ,examiner #8notices' will be found 
in the ,appendix to the present volume4 
,the ,examiner article1 ,june #cj1      
begins with the quotation from ,cowley  
and then adds1 before the paragraph     
beginning #8,the true lesson1' etc41 the
 following3 #8,according to the account 
of ,pliny1 it does not appear certain   
that ,phidias ever worked in marble4 ,he
 mentions indeed a marble ,venus at     

,rome1 conjectured to be his2 and       
another at ,athens1 without the walls1  
done by his scholar ,alcamenes1 to which
 ,phidias was said to have put the last 
hand4 ,his chief works1 according to    
this historian1 were the ,olympian      
,jupiter1 and the ,minerva in the       
,parthenon1 both in ivory3 he executed  
other known works in brass4 ,the words  
of ,pliny1 in speaking of ,phidias1 are 
remarkable3--8,that the name of ,phidias
 is illustrious 444 magnificence even in
 small things40--,natural ,history1     
,book xxxvi44  #8,it appears1 by the    
above description1 that ,phidias did not
 make choice of the colossal height of  
this statue with a view to make size a  
substitute for grandeur2 but in order   
that he might be able1 among other      
things1 to finish1 fill up1 and enrich  
every part as much as possible4 ,size   
assists grandeur in genuine art only by 
enabling the ,artist to give a more     
perfect developement to the parts of    
which the whole is composed4 ,a         

miniature is inferior to a full-sized   
picture1 not because it does not give   
the large and general outline1 but      
because it does not give the smaller    
varieties and finer elements of nature4 
,as a proof of this 7if the thing were  
not self-evident71 the copy of a good   
portrait will always make a             
highly-finished miniature1 but the copy 
of a good miniature1 if enlarged to the 
size of life1 will make but a very vapid
 portrait4 ,some of our own ,artists1   
who are fond of painting large figures1 
either misunderstand or misapply this   
principle4 ,they make the whole figure  
gigantic1 not that they may have room   
for nature1 but for the motion of their 
brush1 regarding the quantity of canvas 
they have to cover as an excuse for the 
slovenly and hasty manner in which they 
cover it2 and thus in fact leave their  
pictures nothing at last but monstrous  
miniatures4  #8,we should hardly have   
ventured to mention this figure of five 
and thirty feet high1 which might give  

an inordinate expansion to the ideas of 
our contemporaries1 but that the labour 
and pains bestowed upon every part of   
it1--the thirty ,gods carved on the     
pedestal1 the battle of the ,centaurs   
and ,lapith on the sandals1 would at    
once make their magnificent projects    
shrink into a nutshell1 or bring them   
within the compass of reason4--,we had  
another inducement for extracting       
,pliny's account of the ,minerva of     
,phidias1 which was1 to check any       
inclination on the part of our students 
to infer from the ,elgin ,marbles1 that 
the perfection of ancient ,grecian art  
consisted in the imperfect state in     
which its earliest remains have come    
down to us2 or to think that fragments  
are better than whole works1 that the   
trunk is more valuable without the head1
 and that the grandeur of the antique   
consists in the ruin and decay into     
which it has fallen through time4'      
,,page  #cbf4 ,who to the life4 ,cowley1
 ,to the ,royal ,society4  ,to learn her

 manner4         #8,acknowledges with   
joy        ,his manner1 and with rapture
 tastes ,his style4'                    
,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,,iii4 #bbg-h4     
#cbg4 ,alternate action and repose4 ,cf4
         #8,and bid alternate passions  
fall and rise4'                         
,pope1 ,essay on ,criticism1 #cge4      
#cbh4 ,after #8is to us a mystery1' add1
 from ,the ,examiner3 #8,further1 we are
 ready 7for the benefit of the ,fine    
,arts in this kingdom7 to produce two   
casts from actual nature1 which if they 
do not furnish practical proof of all   
that we have here advanced1 we are      
willing to forfeit all that we are      
worth--a theory' see p4 #cca1 present   
volume4 ,the article then ends with the 
ten principles and the following note3  
#8,we shall conclude with expressing a  
hope1 that the ,elgin ,marbles may not  
be made another national stop-gap       
between nature and art4  #8,in answer to
 some objections to what was said in a  
former article on the comparative       

propriety of removing these statues1 we 
beg leave to put one question4 ,it      
appears from the ,report of the         
,committee1 that the ,french ,government
 were1 in the year #ahaa1 anxious to    
purchase the collection of ,lord ,elgin1
 who was then a prisoner in ,france4 ,we
 ask then1 supposing this to have been  
done1 what would have become of it8     
,would not the ,theseus and the ,neptune
 have been solemnly sent back1 like     
malefactors1 8to the place from whence  
they came80--,yes1 to be sure4--,the    
,rev4 ,dr4 ,philip ,hunt1 in the service
 of ,lord ,elgin1 declares1 in his      
evidence before the ,committee1 that no 
objection was made nor regret expressed 
by the inhabitants at the removal of the
 ,marbles4 ,in the notes to ,childe     
,harold's ,pilgrimage1#fi we find the   
following extract of a letter from ,dr4 
,clarke to ,lord ,byron3--8,when the    
last of the ,metopes was taken from the 
,parthenon1 and in moving it1 great part
 of the superstructure1 with one of     

triglyphs1 was thrown down by the       
workmen whom ,lord ,elgin employed1 the 
,disdar1 who beheld the mischief done to
 the building1 took his pipe from ,his  
mouth1 dropped a tear1 and in a         
supplicating tone of voice1 said to     
,lusieri1 #8,telos6 ,i was              
present4'0--,it appears that ,dr4       
,philip ,hunt was not4'  #ccj4 ,image   
and superscription4 ,s4 ,matthew xxii4  
#bj4  #ccb4 ,so from the ground root4   
,paradise ,lost1 v4 #dha4  ,laborious   
foolery4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #aba4    
#ccc4 ,fair varieties4 #8,and all the   
fair variety of things4' ,akenside1     
,pleasures of ,imagination1 ,i4  ,mr4   
,westall4 ,richard ,westall             
7#agfe-ahcf71 chiefly remembered by his 
book-illustrations4  ,angelica          
,kauffman4 ,maria ,anna ,angelica       
,kauffmann 7#agda-ahjg71 a ,swiss       
painter1 chiefly of female characters4  
#ccd4 ,torrigiano4 ,pietro ,torrigiano  
7#adgb-aebh71 ,italian sculptor4 ,the   
bronze tombs of ,henry ,,vii4 and ,queen

 ,elizabeth at ,westminster are his4 ,he
 was imprisoned for heresy and died of  
hunger4  #cce4 ,gay creatures of the    
element4 ,comus1 #bii4  #ccf4 ,mr4      
,martin4 ,john ,martin1 landscape and   
historical painter 7#aghi-ahed71 one of 
the founders of the ,society of ,british
 ,artists4  #cch4 ,sir ,joshua tells us 
444 the ,idler4 ,nos4 #gf and #hb4 ,cf4 
vol4 ,,vi4 ,table ,talk1 p4 #aca and    
note4  ,note4 ,sedet in ternumque       
sedebit4 ,virgil1 neid1 ,,vi4 #fag-ah4  
#cci4 ,villainous low4 ,the ,tempest1   
,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4  #cdj4 ,to o'erstep 
the modesty of nature4 ,hamlet1 ,act    
,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,all we hate4 ,pope1   
,moral ,essays1 ,,ii4 #eb4  #cdb4       
,thrills in each nerve4    ,cf4 #8,a    
sudden horror chill   ,ran through each 
nerve1 and thrilled in ev'ry vein4'     
,addison1 ,milton's ,style ,imitated1   
#abc-d4  #cdg4 ,mr4 ,kean4 ,edmund ,kean
 7#aghg-ahcc74  ,mr4 ,kemble4 ,john     
,philip ,kemble 7#ageg-ahbc74           
,,fonthill ,,abbey  ,from ,the ,london  

,magazine1 ,november #ahbb  #cdh4 ,omne 
ignotum4 ,tacitus1 ,agricola1 ,,xxx4    
,ships of pearl and seas of amber4 ,an  
unacknowledged recollection of #8seas of
 milk1 and ships of amber4' ,otway1     
,venice ,preserved1 v4 #b4  #cdi4       
,breughel4 ,jan ,brueghel 7#aefh-afbe71 
of ,brussels1 a landscape painter       
greatly admired by ,rubens1 in some of  
whose pictures ,brueghel painted the    
landscapes4  ,rottenhammer4 ,johann     
,rottenhammer 7#aefd-afbc71 of ,munich1 
historical painter4 ,brueghel painted   
some of his landscape back-grounds also4
  ,which like a trumpet4     #8,that    
like a trumpet made young pulses dance4'
                        ,leigh ,hunt1   
,the ,story of ,rimini1 ,canto ,,iii4   
,cumberland4 ,richard ,cumberland       
7#agcb-ahaa71 the dramatist1 who was    
sent to ,spain on a diplomatic mission  
in #aghj4 ,see his ,memoirs1 #ahjg1 vol4
 ,,ii4 p4 #gh4  ,while groves of ,eden4 
,pope1 ,windsor ,forest1 #g4  ,mr4      
,ritchie4 ,joseph ,ritchie              

7#aghh8-ahai71 who went out on a        
government expedition to ,africa about  
#ahah4  ,bruce4 ,james ,bruce           
7#agcj-agid71 who explored ,abyssinia in
 #agfi-agga4  ,beckford4 ,see ante1 note
 to p4 #ef4  #cea4 ,whose price is above
 rubies4 #8,the price of wisdom is above
 rubies4' ,job xxviii4 #ah4  #cea4 ,the 
showman in ,goldsmith's comedy4 ,she    
,stoops to ,conquer1 ,i4  #ceb4 ,in our 
mind's eye4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4  
,mr4 ,christie4 ,james ,christie1 the   
elder 7#agcj-ahjc71 the ,london         
auctioneer4 ,his son1 ,james the younger
 7#aggc-ahca71 was both antiquary and   
auctioneer4  #ced4 ,della ,cruscan4 ,see
 vol4 ,v4 ,lectures on the ,english     
,poets1 note to p4 #adh4  ,nug ,canor4  
,horace1 ,ars ,poet4 #cbb4  ,stella4 ,a 
family of ,french painters of various   
years from #aebe to #afig4  ,franks4    
,frans ,francken1 the younger1 otherwise
 ,don ,francisco1 of ,antwerp           
7#aeha-afdb71 one of a numerous family  
of painters4  ,lucas ,cranach4 ,luther's

 friend1 the painter whose name is      
always associated with the ,reformation 
7#adgb-aeec74  ,netecher4 ,caspar       
,netcher 7#afci-afhd71 of ,heidelberg1  
painter of domestic scenes and small    
portraits4 ,his two sons ,constantine   
and ,theodor were also painters4  #cee4 
,cosway4 ,richard ,cosway 7d4 #ahba71   
the miniaturist4 ,this passage about    
,cosway is substantially repeated in    
vol4 ,,vii4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 pp4   
#ie-f4  ,mr4 ,cipriani4 ,giambattista   
,cipriani1 of ,florentine birth         
7#agbg-aghe74  ,we scarce shall shall   
not look upon his like again4 ,hamlet1  
,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4  ,g4 ,douw4 ,see ante1
 note to p4 #ce4  ,bassan4 ,see ante1   
note to p4 #ce4                         
,,judging ,,of ,,pictures  ,from ,the   
,literary ,examiner1 ,august #b1 #ahbc  
#ceg4 ,dr4 ,kitchener4 ,william         
,kitchiner 7#agge8-ahbg71 ,m4,d41 author
 of ,apicius ,redivivus1 or the ,cook's 
,oracle1 #ahag1 a book which passed     
through many editions4  ,mr4 ,ude4      

,louis-,eustache ,ude1 whose book1 ,the 
,french ,cook2 or the ,art of ,cookery  
developed in all its branches1 was      
published in #ahac4  ,as #8,squire      
,western would say4 ,see ,tom ,jones1   
,book ,,iv4 chap1 ,x41 etc4             
,,the ,,vatican  ,from ,the ,new        
,monthly ,magazine1 ,november #ahbg4 ,it
 was published later in the volume of   
,hazlitt's ,literary ,remains1 #ahcf4   
#cei4 ,l4 ,landor ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt4     
#cfj4 ,with hideous ruin4 ,paradise     
,lost1 ,i4 #df4  #cfa4 ,divin particula 
particulam aur4 ,horace1 ,sat4 ,,ii4 #b4
  ,the rapt soul4 ,il ,penseroso1 #dj4  
,seer blest4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,xii4    
#eec4  ,as a book where one may read    
strange matters4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4
 #e4  ,neither the cloud by day nor the 
pillar of fire4 ,exodus xiii4 #ba4      
#cfb4 ,his bodies thought4              
#8----so distinctly wrought        ,that
 one might almost say1 her body         
thought4'    ,john ,donne3 ,an ,anatomy 
of the ,world1 ,second ,anniversary1    

#bde-f4  #cfc4 ,a fiery soul4 ,dryden1  
,absalom and ,achitophel1 ,i4 #aef4     
#cfe4 ,hope elevates1 and joy brightens 
their every feature his crest4 ,paradise
 ,lost1 ,,ix4 #fcc4  #cff4 ,on his front
 engraven thought deliberation sat4     
,ibid41 ,,ii4 #cjb4  ,scattered like    
stray-gifts4 ,wordsworth1 ,stray        
,pleasures4  #cff4 ,stately height      
though bare4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4  
#gbc3                                   
#8,the ascending pile                   
,stood fixed her stately highth4'  #cfg4
 ,cosmo ,comyne ,bradwardine4 ,waverley1
 vol4 ,,ii4 chap4 #bh4  ,fergus         
,mac,ivor4 ,ibid4 vol4 ,,ii4 chap4 #dj4 
,,english ,,students ,,at ,,rome  ,from 
,the ,new ,monthly ,magazine1 ,october  
#ahbg  #cfi4 ,the vast1 the unbounded4  
,paradise ,lost1 ,x4 #dga4  #cga4       
,petrific mace4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,x4    
#bid4  #cgb4 ,pan is a god4 ,lyly's     
,midas1 ,,iv4 #a4  ,the colouring of    
,titian4 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,,iii4 #ab4 
#cgc4 ,the high endeavour4 ,cowper1 ,the

 ,task1 ,v4 #ija4  #cgd4 ,hobbes said   
well4 ,leviathan1 ,part ,,iv41 ,of the  
,kingdome of ,darknesse1 chap4 #dg4     
#cge4 ,vox faucibus hsit4 ,virgil1 neid1
 ,,ii4 #ggd4  ,sedet infelix ,theseus4  
,ibid41 ,,vi4 #fag4  ,his tediousness4  
,cf4 the scene between ,leonato and     
,dogberry1 etc4 ,much ,ado ,about       
,nothing1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #e4  #cgf4   
,tearing wipe away from his memory4     
,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4  ,her my     
commandment all alone4 ,ibid4           
,,fine ,,arts  ,an article contributed  
to the supplement to the fourth1 fifth1 
and sixth editions of the ,encyclopdia  
,britannica3 #f vols41 #dto1 #ahbd4     
,signed ,z4 ,this essay was based upon  
articles which appeared in ,the         
,champion on ,august #bh1 ,september    
#aa1 and ,october #b1 #ahad1            
entitled--,fine ,arts4 ,whether they are
 promoted by academies and public       
institutions1 and on ,october #cj and   
,november #f entitled ,character of ,sir
 ,joshua ,reynolds4 ,passages omitted   

from the later publication will be found
 below4 ,the article is a characteristic
 example of ,hazlitt's method of using  
his previous work when writing on a     
similar subject4  ,the text here printed
 is that of the supplementary volumes of
 #ahbd1 published during ,hazlitt's     
lifetime1 and incorporated later in the 
uniform issue of the ,encyclopaedia     
,britannica 7the #gth7 the title-pages  
of which were dated #ahdb4  ,hazlitt's  
article on ,the ,fine ,arts and the one 
on ,painting by ,haydon1 #8being the    
articles under those heads contributed  
to the seventh edition of the           
,encyclopdia ,britannica1' were         
published in one volume by ,messrs4     
,adam and ,charles ,black1 ,edinburgh1  
in #ahch4 ,hazlitt's article was also   
published in the volume of ,literary    
,remains published in #ahcf4  ,the      
,essays in ,table ,talk1 ,nos4 ,,xiii4  
and ,,xiv41 #8,on certain               
,inconsistencies in ,sir ,joshua        
,reynolds's ,discourses1' may be        

mentioned in connection with the        
subject-matter of the present article   
7see vol4 ,,vi4 pp4 #abb et seq471 and  
also four papers contributed to ,the    
,champion on ,reynolds as critic1       
,november #bg1 ,december #d and #be1    
#ahad1 and ,january #h1 #ahae4 ,see the 
final volumes of the present edition1   
where they are reprinted for the first  
time4  ,,page  #chb4 ,the ,mistress or  
the saint4 ,goldsmith's ,traveller1     
#aeb4  #chh4 ,bright with excessive     
darkness4                 ,cf4 #8dark   
with excessive bright4'                 
,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #chj4  #chi4    
,they are of the earth1 earthy4 #a ,cor4
 ,,xv4 #dg4  ,vangoyen4 ,see ante1 note 
to p4 #cf4  ,ruysdael4 ,see ante1 note  
to p4 #bb4  ,vanderneer4 ,probably      
,eglon ,hendrik ,van der ,neer          
7#afdc-agjc71 of ,amsterdam1 is meant1  
since his pictures are characterised by 
their elaborate finish4 ,his father1    
,aert ,van der ,neer 7#afjc-afgg71      
painted moonlight and winter scenes4    

#cij4 ,to hold the mirror4 ,hamlet1 ,act
 ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,to show vice virtue  
her own feature1 scorn her own image4   
,ibid41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  #cia4 ,die
 of a rose in aromatic pain4 ,pope1     
,essay on ,man1 ,ep4 ,i4 #bjj4  ,of the 
great vulgar and the small4 ,cowley1    
,horace1 ,odes1 ,,iii4 #a4  #cib4 ,after
 ,marriage  la ,mode the article in its 
original issue adds3 #8exhibited lately 
at the ,british ,institution4'  #cid4   
,universal ,pan4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 
#bff4  #cif4 ,the authority of ,sir     
,joshua ,reynolds4 ,from the article in 
,the ,champion1 ,oct4 #cj1 #ahad1       
entitled ,character of ,sir ,joshua     
,reynolds4  ,after worth considering    
add3 #8,from the great and substantial  
merits of the late ,president1 we have  
as little the inclination as the power  
to detract4 ,but we certainly think that
 they have been sometimes over-rated    
from the partiality of friends and from 
the influence of fashion4 ,however      
necessary and useful the ebullitions of 

public or private enthusiasm may be to  
counteract the common prejudices against
 new claims to reputation1 and to lift  
rising genius to its just rank1 there is
 a time when1 having accomplished its   
end1 our zeal may be suffered to subside
 into discretion1 and when it becomes as
 proper to restrain our admiration as it
 was before to give a loose to it4 ,it  
is only by having undergone this double 
ordeal that reputation can ever be      
established on a solid basis--that      
popularity becomes fame4'  #cig4 ,alone 
give value and dignity to it4 ,cf4      
,lamb's ,essay on the ,genius and       
,character of ,hogarth 7ed4 ,e4 ,v4     
,lucas1 ,i4 #hj71 where the words are   
quoted from ,barry's ,account of a      
,series of ,pictures 444 at the         
,adelphi4  ,hudson4 ,thomas ,hudson     
7#agja-aggi71 one of the most           
fashionable portrait painters of his    
day1 the master of ,sir ,joshua         
,reynolds4  ,after affected position    
add3 #8,he thought that beauty and      

perfection were one and he very         
consistently reduced this principle to  
practice4'  ,richardson4 ,jonathan      
,richardson 7#affe-agde71 portrait      
painter and writer on art4  ,coypel4 ,a 
family of ,french painters of various   
years from #afbh to #ageb4  #cih4 ,after
 proportion or form add3 #8,this        
distinction has not been sufficiently   
attended to4 ,mr4 ,west1 for example1   
has considerable knowledge of drawing1  
as it relates to proportion1 to the     
anatomical measurements of the human    
body4 ,he has not the least conception  
of elegance or grandeur of form4 ,the   
one is matter of mechanical knowledge1  
the other of taste and feeling4 ,rubens 
was deficient in the anatomical         
measurements1 as well as in the marking 
of the muscles3 but he had as fine an   
eye as possible for what may be called  
the picturesque in form1 both in the    
composition of his figures and in the   
particular parts4 ,in all that relates  
to the expression of motion1 that is1 to

 ease1 freedom1 and elasticity of form1 
he was unrivalled4 ,he was as superior  
to ,mr4 ,west in his power of drawing1  
as in his power of                      
colouring4--,correggio's proportions are
 said to have been often incorrect3 but 
his feeling of beauty1 and grace of     
outline1 was of the most exquisite      
kind4'  #cii4 ,after and some others add
 the following footnote3 #8,our         
references are generally made to        
pictures in the late exhibition of ,sir 
,joshua's works in the ,british         
,gallery4'  ,no mark or likelihood4 #a  
,king ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4
  ,after downright portraits and nothing
 more1 add3 #8,what if he had painted   
them on the theory of middle forms1 or  
pounded their features together in the  
same metaphysical mortar8 ,mr4 ,westall 
might just as well have painted them4   
,they would have been of no more value  
than his own pictures of ,mr4           
,tomkins1#gj the penman1 or ,mrs4       
,robinson1#ga who is painted with a hat 

and feather1 or ,mrs4 ,billington1#gb   
who is painted as ,st4 ,cecilia1 or than
 the ,prince of ,wales and ,duke of     
,york1 or the portraits of ,sir ,george 
and ,lady ,beaumont4 ,would the artist  
in this case have conferred the same    
benefit on the public1 or have added as 
much to the stock of our ideas1 as by   
giving us fac-similes of the most       
interesting characters of the time1 with
 whom we seem1 from his representations 
of them1 to be almost as well acquainted
 as if we had known them1 and to        
remember their persons as well as their 
writings8 ,yet we would rather have seen
 ,johnson1 or ,goldsmith1 or ,burke1    
than their portraits4 ,this shows that  
the effect of the pictures would not    
have been the worse1 if they had been   
the more finished1 and more detailed3   
for there is nothing so true1 either to 
the details or to the general effect1 as
 nature4 ,the only celebrated person of 
this period whom we have seen is ,mr4   
,sheridan1 whose face1 we have no       

hesitation in saying1 contains a great  
deal more1 and is better worth seeing1  
than ,sir ,joshua's picture of him4'    
,after stiff and confined add3 #8,but   
there is a medium between primness and  
hoydening4'  #djj4 ,after ease and      
elegance add3 #8,sir ,joshua seems more 
than once 7both theoretically and       
practically7 to have borrowed his idea  
of positive excellence from a negation  
of the opposite defect4 ,his tastes led 
him to reject the faults1 which he had  
observed in others2 but he had not      
always power to realize his own idea of 
perfection1 or to ascertain precisely in
 what it consisted4 ,his colouring also 
wanted that purity1 delicacy1 and       
transparent smoothness1 which gives such
 an exquisite charm to ,vandyke's women4
 ,vandyke's portraits 7mostly of        
,english women7 in the ,louvre1 have a  
cool1 refreshing air about them1 a look 
of simplicity and modesty even in the   
very tone1 which forms a fine contrast  
to the voluptuous glow and mellow golden

 lustre of ,titian's ,italian women4    
,there is a quality of flesh-colour in  
,vandyke1 which is to be found in no    
other painter1 neither in ,titian1      
,rubens1 nor ,rembrandt2 nor is it in   
,reynolds1 for he had nothing which was 
not taken from those three4 ,it exactly 
conveys the idea of the soft1 smooth1   
sliding1 continuous1 delicately varied  
surface of the skin4 ,correggio         
approached nearer to it1 though his     
principle of light and shade was totally
 different4 ,the objects in ,vandyke    
have the least possible difference of   
light and shade1 and are presented to   
the eye without being reflected through 
any other medium4 ,it is this extreme   
purity and clearness of tone1 together  
with the elegance and precision of his  
particular forms1#gc that places        
,vandyke in the first rank of           
portrait-painters4 ,as ,reynolds had not
 his defects1 he had not his            
excellences4 ,we accidentally saw the   
late ,lady ,mount-,joy at the exhibition

 of ,sir ,joshua's works in ,pall-mall3 
nor could we help contrasting the       
dazzling clearness of complexion1 the   
delicacy and distinctness of the form of
 the features1 with the half made-up and
 faded beauties which hung on the walls1
 and which comparatively resembled paste
 figures1 smeared over with paint4 ,we  
doubt whether the same effect would have
 been produced in a fine collection of  
,vandyke's4 ,in the gallery of          
,blenheim1 there is a family picture of 
the ,duchess of ,buckingham with her    
children1 which is a pure mirrour of    
fashion4 ,the picture produces the same 
sort of respect and silence as if the   
spectator had been introduced into a    
family circle of the highest rank1 at a 
period when rank was a greater          
distinction than it is at present4 ,the 
delicate attention and mild solicitude  
of the mother are admirable1 but two of 
the children surpass description4 ,the  
one is a young girl of nine or ten1 who 
looks as if 8the winds of heaven had not

 been permitted to visit her face too   
roughly02#gd she stands before her      
mother in all the pride of childish     
self-importance1 and studied display of 
artificial prettinesses1 with a         
consciousness that the least departure  
from strict propriety or decorum will be
 instantly detected2 the other is a     
little round-faced chubby boy1 who      
stands quite at his ease behind his     
mother's chair1 with a fine rosy glow of
 health in his cheeks1 through which the
 blood is seen circulating4 ,it was like
 seeing the objects reflected in a      
glass4 ,the picture of the late ,duke   
and ,duchess of ,marlborough and their  
children1 in the same room1 painted by  
,sir ,joshua1 appear coarse and tawdry  
when compared with 8the soft precision  
of the clear ,vandyke40'#ge  #djj4      
,after borrowed from ,correggio add3    
#8,sir ,joshua has only repeated the    
same idea ad infinitum1 and has1        
besides1 caricatured it4 ,it has been   
said that his children were unrivalled4 

,titian's1 ,raphael's1 and ,correggio's 
were much superior4 ,those of ,rubens   
and ,poussin were at least equal4 ,if   
any one should hesitate as to the last  
painter in particular1 we would refer   
them to the picture 7at ,lord           
,grosvenor's7 of the children paying    
adoration to the infant ,christ1 or to  
the children drinking in the picture of 
,moses striking the rock4 ,our making   
these comparisons or giving these       
preferences is not1 we conceive1 any    
disparagement to ,sir ,joshua4 ,did we  
not think highly of him1 we might well  
blush to make them4'  ,infant ,samuel4  
,the passage in ,the ,champion is       
slightly different1 and quotes a few    
lines from ,mr4 ,sotheby's poetical     
,epistle to ,sir ,g4 ,beaumont          
describing the infant ,jupiter and the  
infant ,samuel4 ,william ,sotheby       
7#ageg-ahcc7 was horse-soldier1 friend  
of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 and poet4       
,after but the name add3 #8,sir ,joshua 
himself 7as it appears from his         

biographers7 had no idea of a subject in
 painting them1 till some ignorant and  
officious admirer undertook to supply   
the deficiency4 ,what can be more       
trifling than giving the portrait of    
,kitty ,fisher#gf the mock-heroic title 
of ,cleopatra8'  #dja4 ,count ,ugolino4 
,the story will be found in ,the        
,inferno1 ,canto ,,xxxiii4  ,after rest 
of the figures add3 #8who look very much
 like apprentices hired to sit for the  
occasion from some neighbouring         
workshop4 ,there is one pleasing and    
natural figure of a little boy kneeling 
at his father's feet1 but it has no     
relation to the supposed story4'  #dja4 
,after charitable donation add3 #8,there
 is all the difference between what the 
picture is and what it ought to be1 that
 there is between ,crabbe and ,dante4'  
,after which they are borne8 add3       
#8,nothing6 ,yet ,dr4 ,warton1#gg who   
has related this story so well2 ,burke1 
who wrote that fine description of the  
effects of famine2#gh ,goldsmith1 and   

all his other friends1 were satisfied   
with his success4 ,why then should not  
,sir ,joshua be so too8--,because he was
 bound to understand the language which 
he used1 as well as that which was given
 him to translate4'  ,after dreadful    
objects add3 #8,the idea of ,macbeth    
seems to be taken from the passage in   
,shakespear--8,why stands ,macbeth thus 
amazedly80#gi ,the poet has in this     
taunting question of the witches laid   
open the inmost movements of his mind4  
,why has the painter turned his face    
from us8' ,then1 the ,cardinal ,beaufort
 passage having been given before       
instead of after that about ,macbeth1   
the ,champion article ends thus3--      
#88,garrick between tragedy and comedy0 
is1 to say the best1 a very indifferent 
performance4 ,he appears to be 8grinning
 for a wager40 ,we cannot conceive how  
any two ladies should contend for such a
 prize1 nor how he should be divided    
between them4 ,the muse of comedy is as 
childish and insipid as the muse of     

tragedy is cold and repulsive4 ,the     
whole is mere affectation without an    
idea4 ,mrs4 ,siddons1 as the tragic     
muse1 is an improvement on the same     
false style4 ,it is not ,mrs4 ,siddons1 
nor is it the tragic muse1 but something
 between both1 and neither4 ,we would   
ask those who pretend to admire this    
composition1 whether they think it would
 convey to any one who had never seen   
the original1 the least idea of the     
power of that wonderful actress in any  
one of her characters1 and as it relates
 to the expression of countenance alone8
 ,that it gives an idea of any thing    
finer1 is what we cannot readily make up
 our minds to4 ,we ought perhaps in     
fairness to close these remarks with a  
confession of our weakness4--,there was 
one picture which affected us more than 
all the rest1 because it seemed to      
convey the true feeling of the story1   
and that was the picture of the         
,children in the ,wood4  #8,to return   
once more to ,sir ,joshua's general     

character as a painter4 ,he has been    
compared to ,raphael1 ,titian1 ,rubens1 
,vandyke1 ,rembrandt1 and ,correggio1   
and said to unite all their excellences4
 ,it will be well to qualify this       
praise4 ,he had little congeniality of  
mind1 except with the two last1 more    
particularly ,rembrandt4 ,of ,raphael1  
it is needless to say any thing4 ,he had
 very little of ,titian's manner1 except
 perhaps a greater breadth and uniform  
richness of colour than he would have   
acquired from ,rembrandt4 ,he had none  
of the dignity or animation of ,titian's
 portraits4 ,it is not speaking too     
highly of the portraits of ,titian to   
say1 that they have as much expression1 
that is1 convey as fine an idea of      
intellect and feeling1 as the historical
 heads of ,raphael4 ,the difference     
seems to be only1 that the expression in
 ,raphael is more contemplative and     
philosophical1 and in ,titian more      
personal and constitutional4 ,in the    
portraits of the latter1 the ,italian   

character always predominates3 there is 
a look of piercing sagacity1 of         
commanding intellect1 of acute          
sensibility1 which it would be in vain  
to expect to find in ,english portraits4
 ,the daring spirit and irritable       
passions of the age and country are as  
distinctly stamped upon the             
countenances1 and can be as little      
mistaken as the costume which they wear4
 ,many of them look as if it would be   
hardly safe to be left in the room with 
them1 so completely do they convey the  
idea of superiority4#hj ,the portraits  
of ,raphael1 though full of profound    
thought and character1 have more of     
common humanity about them4--,of        
,vandyke1 as we have observed before1   
,sir ,joshua had neither the excellences
 nor defects4 ,some years ago1 we saw   
his picture of the ,marquis of ,granby1 
and ,vandyke's picture of ,charles ,i4  
7engraved by ,strange#ha7 standing by   
one another1 in the ,louvre4 ,the       
difference was striking4 ,the portrait  

of the nobleman looked heavy and        
muddled1 from the mode of heaping on the
 colours1 and the determination to      
produce effect alone without attention  
to the subordinate details defeated     
itself4 ,the portrait of the unfortunate
 monarch1 on the contrary1 displayed the
 utmost delicacy and facility of        
execution4 ,every part would bear the   
nicest inspection1 and yet the whole    
composition1 the monarch1 the figure of 
the horse1 and the attendants1 had all  
the distinctness1 lightness1 and        
transparency of objects seen in the open
 air4 ,there are some persons who will  
still prefer the former mode of         
execution as more bold and dashing4 ,for
 the same reason1 we might prefer the   
copies of the head of the ,marquis of   
,granby1 which we so often see in       
conspicuous situations in the vicinity  
of the metropolis1 to the original4     
#8,of ,rubens our admired countryman had
 neither the facility nor brilliancy4   
,he was crude and heavy both in drawing 

and colour1 compared with the ,flemish  
painter4 ,rembrandt was the painter of  
all others whom ,sir ,joshua most       
resembled1 and from whom he borrowed    
most4 ,strong masses of light and shade1
 harmony and clearness of tone1 the     
production of effect by masterly1 broad1
 and rapid execution were in general the
 forte of both these painters4          
,rembrandt had the priority in the order
 of time1 and also in power of hand and 
eye4 ,there are no pictures of          
,reynolds' which will stand against the 
best of ,rembrandt's for striking effect
 and an intense feeling of nature4 ,they
 are faint1 slovenly1 dingy1 and        
commonplace in comparison4 ,rembrandt   
had even greater versatility of genius4 
,he had an eye for all objects as far as
 he had seen them4 ,his history and     
landscapes are equally fine in their    
way4 ,he might be said to have created a
 style of his own1 which he also        
perfected4 ,in fact1 he is one of the   
great founders and legislators of art4  

,of ,correggio1 ,reynolds borrowed      
little but the air of some of his female
 heads1 and the models of his children1 
which he injudiciously overloaded with  
the massy light and shade of ,rembrandt1
 instead of the tender chiaro-scuro of  
,correggio1 the only colouring proper   
for that kind of soft1 undulating1      
retiring line of beauty4 ,we shall sum  
up our opinion by saying1 that we do not
 find in the works of ,sir ,joshua      
either the majesty and power1 the       
delicacy and refinement1 the luxurious  
splendour1 and dazzling invention1      
neither the same originality of         
conception1 nor perfect execution1 which
 are to be found in the greatest        
painters4 ,nevertheless1 his works did  
honour to his art and to his country4   
,w4 ,h4'  #djf4 ,collins4 ,william      
,collins 7#aghh-ahdg71 painter of rustic
 life1 and father of ,wilkie ,collins1  
the novelist1 and a friend of ,wilkie1  
the painter4  ,heaphy4 ,thomas ,heaphy  
7#agge-ahce74 ,he was the first         

,president of the ,society of ,british  
,artists1 #ahbd4  ,as if some of        
nature's journeymen4 ,hamlet1 ,act      
,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,note4 ,this subject of
 the ,ideal4 ,cf4 the article           
contributed to the ,atlas under this    
heading1 pp4 #dbi et seq4  #djh4 ,snatch
 a grace4 ,pope1 ,essay on ,criticism1  
,i4 #aed4  ,it has flourished4 ,the     
remainder of the essay is based on the  
two ,champion articles of ,august #bh   
and ,september #aa1 #ahad4 ,the first   
one begins3--  #8,the ,directors of the 
,british ,institution conclude the      
preface to their catalogue of the works 
of ,hogarth1 ,wilson1 c4 in the         
following words4444  #88,the present    
exhibition1 while it gratifies the taste
 and feeling of the lover of art1 may   
tend to excite animating reflections in 
the mind of the artist3 if at a time    
when the art received little comparative
 support such works were produced1 a    
reasonable hope may be entertained that 
we shall see productions of still higher

 attainment1 under more encouraging     
circumstances40  #8,it should seem that 
a contrary conclusion might more        
naturally have suggested itself from a  
contemplation of the collection1 with   
which the ,directors of the ,institution
 have so highly gratified the public    
taste and feeling4 ,when the real lover 
of art looks round1 and sees the works  
of ,hogarth and of ,wilson1--works which
 were produced in obscurity and         
poverty1--and recollects the pomp and   
pride of patronage under which these    
works are at present recommended to     
public notice1 the obvious inference    
which strikes him is1 how little the    
production of such works depends on 8the
 most encouraging circumstances40 ,the  
visits of the gods of old did not always
 add to the felicity of those whose     
guests they were2 nor do we know that   
the countenance and favours of the great
 will lift the arts to that height of   
excellence1 or will confer all those    
advantages which are expected from the  

proffered boon4 ,the arts are of humble 
growth and station2 they are the product
 of labour and self-denial2 they have   
their seat in the heart of man1 and in  
his imagination2 it is there they       
labour1 have their triumphs there1 and  
unseen and unthought of1 perform their  
ceaseless task4--,indeed1 patronage1 and
 works of art deserving patronage1      
rarely exist together2 for it is only   
when the arts have attracted public     
esteem1 and reflect credit on the       
patron1 that they receive this          
flattering support1 and then it         
generally proves fatal to them4 ,we     
really do not see how the man of genius 
should be improved by being transplanted
 from his closet to the anti-chambers of
 the great1 or to a fashionable rout4   
,he has no business there--but to bow1  
to flatter1 to smile1 to submit to the  
caprice of taste1 to adjust his dress1  
to think of nothing but his own person  
and his own interest1 to talk of the    
antique1 and furnish designs for the    

lids of snuffboxes1 and ladies' fans6   
#8,the passage above alluded to         
evidently proceeds on the common        
mistaken notion1 that the progress of   
the arts depends entirely on the        
cultivation and encouragement bestowed  
on them2 as if taste and genius were    
perfectly mechanical1 arbitrary         
things1--as if they could be bought and 
sold1 and regularly contracted for at a 
given price4 ,it confounds the fine arts
 with the mechanic arts1--art with      
science4 ,it supposes that feeling1     
imagination1 invention1 are the         
creatures of positive institution2 that 
the temples of the muses may be raised  
and supported by voluntary contribution2
 that we can enshrine the soul of art in
 a stately pile1 of royal patronage1    
inspire corporate bodies with taste1 and
 carve out the direction to fame in     
letters of stone on the front of public 
buildings4 ,that the arts in any country
 may be at so low an ebb as to be       
capable of great improvement by positive

 means1 so as to reach the common level 
to which such means can carry them1     
there is no doubt or question3 but after
 they have in any particular instance by
 native genius and industry reached     
their highest eminence1 to say that they
 will1 by mere artificial props and     
officious encouragement1 arrive at a    
point of 8still higher attainment10 is  
assuming a good deal too much4 ,are we  
to understand that the laudable efforts 
of the ,british ,institution are likely1
 by the mere operation of natural       
causes1 to produce a greater comic      
painter1 a more profound describer of   
manners than ,hogarth8 ,or even that the
 lights and expectations held out in the
 preface to the ,british catalogue1 will
 enable some one speedily to surpass the
 general excellence of ,wilson's        
landscapes8 ,is there anything in the   
history of art to warrant such a        
conclusion--to support this theory of   
progressive perfectibility under the    
auspices of patrons and vice-patrons1   

presidents and select committees8  #8,on
 the contrary1 as far as the general    
theory is concerned the traces of youth1
 manhood1 and old age1 are almost as    
distinctly marked in the history of the 
art as of the individual4 ,the arts have
 in general risen rapidly from their    
first obscure dawn to their meridian    
height and greatest lustre1 and have no 
sooner reached this proud eminence than 
they have as rapidly hastened to decay  
and desolation4'  #dji4 ,after symmetry 
of form add3 #8,what then has the       
,genius of progressive improvement been 
doing all this time8 ,has he been       
reposing after his labours8 ,how is it  
that the moderns are still so far       
behind1 notwithstanding all that was    
done ready to their hands by the        
ancients1--when they possess a double   
advantage over them1 and have not nature
 only to form themselves upon1 but      
nature and the antique8'  ,after ,guido 
,reni add3         #8,for with him      
disappeared the last of those bright    

clouds1        ,that on the unsteady    
breeze of honour sailed        ,in long 
procession1 calm and beautiful4'#hd     
,after critics and connoisseurs add3    
#8,art will not be constrained by       
mastery1 but at sight of the formidable 
array prepared to receive it1           
8,spreads its light wings1 and in a     
moment flies40#he  ,the genius of       
painting lies buried under the ,vatican1
 or skulks behind some old portrait of  
,titian from which it stole out lately  
to paint a miniature of ,lady ,montagu6'
  ,into opera attitudes8 ,the ,champion 
reads #8with the flighty ,french        
attitudes8' and proceeds3 #8,were       
,claude ,lorraine1 or ,nicolas ,poussin1
 formed by the rules of ,de ,piles#hf or
 ,du ,fresnoy8#hg ,there are no general 
tickets of admission to the temple of   
,fame1 transferable to large societies1 
or organized bodies1--the paths leading 
to it are steep and narrow1 for by the  
time they are worn plain and easy1 the  
niches are full4 ,what extraordinary    

advances have we made in our own country
 in consequence of the establishment of 
the ,royal ,academy8 ,what greater names
 has the ,english ,school to boast1 than
 those of ,hogarth1 ,reynolds1 and      
,wilson1 who owed nothing to it8 ,even  
the venerable president of the ,royal   
,academy was one of its founders4#hh    
#8,it is plain then that the sanguine   
anticipation of the preface-writer1     
however amiable and patriotic in its    
motive1 has little foundation in fact4  
,it has even less in the true theory and
 principles of excellence in the art4   
#88,it has been often made a subject of 
complaint10 says a cotemporary critic'  
,here ,hazlitt quotes from an article of
 his used to makeup the #8,fragment'    
,why the ,arts are not ,progressive8    
,see vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round ,table1 p4    
#afj4 ,he ends with the words #8mother  
earth' and proceeds3  #8,we intend to   
offer a few general observations in     
illustration of this view of the        
subject1 which appears to us to be just4

 ,there are three ways in which         
institutions for the promotion of the   
fine arts may be supposed to favour the 
object in view2 either by furnishing the
 best models to the student1--or by     
holding out the prospect of immediate   
patronage and reward1--or by diffusing a
 more general taste for the arts4 ,all  
of these so far from answering the end  
proposed1 will be found on examination1 
to have a contrary tendency4'  ,the     
second paper in ,the ,champion begins   
here1 with the motto3 #8,it was ever the
 trick of our ,english nation1 if they  
had a good thing1 to make it too        
common4'  #8,we observed in the         
conclusion of our last article on this  
subject1 that there were three ways in  
which academies or public institutions  
might be supposed to promote the fine   
arts1--either by furnishing the best    
models to the student1 or by holding out
 immediate emolument and patronage1 or  
by improving the public taste4 ,we shall
 consider each of these in order4       

#8,first1 a constant reference to the   
best models of art necessarily tends to 
enervate the mind1 to intercept our view
 of nature1 and to distract the         
attention by a variety of unattainable  
excellence4 ,an intimate acquaintance   
with the works of the celebrated        
masters1 may1 indeed1 add to the        
indolent refinements of taste1 but will 
never produce one work of original      
genius1--one great artist4'  #dji4      
,cimabue4 ,giovanni ,cimabue1 of        
,florence 7#abdj-8acjb71 the #8,father  
of ,modern ,painting1' or more          
accurately1 whose work marks the close  
of the old school before the opening of 
the new by his pupil ,giotto and others4
  ,massacio4 ,tommaso ,guidi1 or        
,masaccio 7,slovenly ,tommy1 for his    
careless manners71 ,florentine painter  
7#adja-adbh74  ,carlo ,maratti4 ,see    
ante1 note to p4 #ai4  ,raphael ,mengs4 
,see ante1 note to p4 #bjc4  ,after     
pretend to combine add3 #8,inoffensive  
insipidity is the utmost that can ever  

be expected1 because it is the utmost   
that ever was attained1 from the desire 
to produce a balance of good qualities1 
and to animate lifeless compositions by 
the transfusion of a spirit of          
originality4'  ,after uniform mediocrity
 add3 #8,there is a certain pedantry1 a 
given division of labour1 an almost     
exclusive attention to some one object1 
which is necessary in ,art1 as in all   
the works of man4 ,without this1 the    
unavoidable consequence is a gradual    
dissipation and prostitution of         
intellect1 which leaves the mind without
 energy to devote to any pursuit the    
pains necessary to excel in it1 and     
suspends every purpose in irritable     
imbecility4 ,but the modern painter is  
bound not only to run the circle of his 
own art1 but of all others4 ,he must be 
8statesman1 chemist1 fiddler1 and       
buffoon40#hi ,he must have too many     
accomplishments to excel in his         
profession4 ,when every one is bound to 
know every thing1 there is no time to do

 any thing4 ,besides1 the student1' etc4
  #daj4 ,after grace of ,raphael instead
 of #8and ends in nothing' substitute3  
#8finds it easier to copy pictures than 
to paint them1 and easier to see than to
 copy them1 takes infinite pains to gain
 admission to all the great collections1
 lounges from one auction room to       
another1 and writes newspaper criticisms
 on the ,fine ,arts----4'  #daa4 ,after 
ever he realized add3 #8,it is beating  
up for raw dependents1 sending out into 
the highways for the halt1 the lame1 and
 the blind1 and making a scramble among 
a set of idle boys for prizes of the    
first1 second1 and third class1 like    
those we make among children for        
gingerbread toys4 ,true patronage does  
not consist in ostentatious professions 
of high keeping1 and promiscuous        
intercourse with the arts4'  ,after     
self-constituted judge add3 #8,whenever 
vanity and self importance are 7as in   
general they must be7 the governing     
principles of systems of public         

patronage1 there is an end at once of   
all candour and directness of conduct4  
,their decisions are before the public3 
and the individuals who take the lead in
 these decisions are responsible for    
them4'  ,after pauperism about it add3  
#8,they neglect or treat with insult the
 favourite whom they suspect of having  
fallen off in the opinion of the public2
 but1 if he is able to recover his      
ground without their assistance1 are    
ready to heap their mercenary bounties  
upon those of others1 greet him with    
friendly congratulations1 and share his 
triumph with him4'  ,after common faith 
add the following footnote3 #8,of the   
effect of the authority of the subject  
of a composition1 in suspending the     
exercise of personal taste and feeling  
in the spectators1 we have a striking   
instance in our own country1 where this 
cause must1 from collateral             
circumstances1 operate less forcibly4   
,mr4 ,west's pictures would not be      
tolerated but from the respect inspired 

by the subjects of which he treats4     
,when a young lady and her mother1 the  
wife and daughter of a clergyman1 are   
told1 that a gawky ill-favoured youth is
 the beloved disciple of ,christ1 and   
that a tall1 starched figure of a woman 
visible near him is the ,virgin ,mary1  
whatever they might have thought before1
 they can no more refrain from shedding 
tears than if they had seen the very    
persons recorded in sacred history4 ,it 
is not the picture1 but the associations
 connected with it1 that produce the    
effect4 ,just as if the same young lady 
and her mother had been told1 8that is  
the ,emperor ,alexander10 they would    
say1 8what a handsome man60 or if they  
were shown the ,prince ,regent1 would   
exclaim1 8how elegant60'  #dab4 ,after  
professed objects add3 #8,positive      
encouragements and rewards will not make
 an honest man1 or a great artist4 ,the 
assumed familiarity1 and condescending  
goodness of patrons and vice-patrons    
will serve to intoxicate rather than to 

sober the mind1 and a card to dinner in 
,cleveland-row or ,portland-place1 will 
have a tendency to divert the student's 
thoughts from his morning's work1 rather
 than to rivet them upon it4 ,the device
 by which a celebrated painter has      
represented the ,virgin teaching the    
infant ,christ to read by pointing with 
a butterfly to the letters of the       
alphabet1 has not been thought a very   
wise one4 ,correggio is the most        
melancholy instance on record of the    
want of a proper encouragement of the   
arts3 but a golden shower of patronage1 
tempting as that which fell into the lap
 of his own ,danae1 and dropping prize  
medals and epic mottoes1 would not      
produce another ,correggio6'  #dab4 ,in 
general4 ,this paragraph1 and parts of  
those which follow1 were #8lifted' from 
,the ,champion article into ,the ,round 
,table1 as well as here4 ,see vol4 ,i4  
p4 #afc1 and notes thereto4  ,after     
highest excellence add3 #8,the diffusion
 of taste is not1 then1 the same thing  

as the improvement of taste2 but it is  
only the former of these objects that is
 promoted by public institutions and    
other artificial means4'  ,after        
smatterers in taste add3 #8,the         
principle of universal suffrage1 however
 applicable to matters of government1   
which concern the common feelings and   
common interests of society1 is by no   
means applicable to matters of taste1   
which can only be decided upon by the   
most refined understandings4 ,it is     
throwing down the barriers which        
separate knowledge and feeling from     
ignorance and vulgarity1 and proclaiming
 a ,bartholomew-fair-show of the fine   
arts--            8,and fools rush in   
where angels fear to tread40#ij  #8,the 
public taste is1 therefore1 necessarily 
vitiated1 in proportion as it is public2
 it is lowered with every infusion it   
receives of common opinion4 ,the greater
 the number of judges1 the less capable 
must they be of judging1 for the        
addition to the number of good ones will

 always be small1 while the multitude of
 bad ones is endless1 and thus the decay
 of art may be said to be the necessary 
consequence of its progress4  #8,can    
there be a greater confirmation of these
 remarks than to look at the texture of 
that assemblage of select critics1 who  
every year visit the exhibition at      
,somerset-house from all parts of the   
metropolis of this united kingdom8 ,is  
it at all wonderful that for such a     
succession of connoisseurs1 such a      
collection of works of art should be    
provided2 where the eye in vain seeks   
relief from the glitter of the frames in
 the glare of the pictures2 where       
vermillion cheeks make vermillion lips  
look pale2 where the merciless splendour
 of the painter's pallet puts nature out
 of countenance2 and where the unmeaning
 grimace of fashion and folly is almost 
the only variety in the wide dazzling   
waste of colour4 ,indeed1 the great     
error of ,british art has hitherto been 
a desire to produce popular effect by   

the cheapest and most obvious means1 and
 at the expence of every thing else2--to
 lose all the delicacy and variety of   
nature in one undistinguished bloom of  
florid health1 and all precision1 truth1
 and refinement of character in the same
 harmless mould of smiling1             
self-complacent insipidity1             
8,pleased with itself1 that all the     
world can please40#ia  #8,it is probable
 that in all that stream of idleness and
 curiosity which flows in1 hour after   
hour1 and day after day1 to the richly  
hung apartments of ,somerset-house1     
there are not fifty persons to be found 
who can really distinguish 8a ,guido    
from a ,daub10 or who would recognise a 
work of the most refined genius from the
 most common and every-day performance4 
,come1 then1 ye banks of ,wapping1 and  
classic haunts of ,ratcliffe-highway1   
and join thy fields1 blithe             
,tothill--let the postchaises1 gay with 
oaken boughs1 be put in requisition for 
school-boys from ,eton and ,harrow1 and 

school-girls from ,hackney and          
,mile-end1--and let a jury be           
empannelled to decide on the merits of  
,raphael1 and----4 ,the verdict will be 
infallible4 ,we remember having been    
formerly a good deal amused with seeing 
a smart1 handsome-looking ,quaker lad1  
standing before a picture of ,christ as 
the saviour of the world1 with a circle 
of young female friends around him1 and 
a newspaper in his hand1 out of which he
 read to his admiring auditors a        
criticism on the picture ascribing to it
 every perfection1 human and            
divine4--,now1 in truth1 the colouring  
was any thing but solemn1 the drawing   
any thing but grand1 the expression any 
thing but sublime4 ,the friendly critic 
had1 however1 bedaubed it so with       
praise1 that it was not easy to gainsay 
its wondrous excellence4 ,in fact1 one  
of the worst consequences of the        
establishment of academies1 c4 is1 that 
the rank and station of the painter     
throw a lustre round his pictures1 which

 imposes completely on the herd of      
spectators1 and makes it a kind of      
treason against the art1 for any one to 
speak his mind freely1 or detect the    
imposture4 ,if1 indeed1 the election to 
title and academic honours went by      
merit1 this might form a kind of clue or
 standard for the public to decide      
justly upon3--but we have heard that    
genius and taste determine precedence   
there1 almost as little as at court2 and
 that modesty and talent stand very     
little chance indeed with interest1     
cabal1 impudence1 and cunning4 ,the     
purity or liberality of professional    
decisions cannot1 therefore1 in such    
cases be expected to counteract the     
tendency which an appeal to the public  
has to lower the standard of taste4 ,the
 artist1 to succeed1 must let himself   
down to the level of his judges1 for he 
cannot raise them up to his own4 ,the   
highest efforts of genius1 in every walk
 of art1 can never be properly          
understood by mankind in general3 there 

are numberless beauties and truths which
 lie far beyond their comprehension4 ,it
 is only as refinement or sublimity are 
blended with other qualities of a more  
obvious and common nature1 that they    
pass current with the world4 ,common    
sense1 which has been sometimes appealed
 to as the criterion of taste1 is       
nothing but the common capacity1 applied
 to common facts and feelings2 but it   
neither is1 nor pretends to be1 the     
judge of any thing else4--,to suppose   
that it can really appreciate the       
excellence of works of high art1 is as  
absurd as to suppose that it could      
produce them4' ,the article in ,the     
,champion ends with the paragraph       
#8,taste is the highest4444 ,falcon is  
forgotten1' which forms the conclusion  
of ,the ,round ,table article also4 ,see
 vol4 ,i4 p4 #afd4 ,what follows is in  
the form of a ,letter to the ,editor of 
,the ,champion1 ,october #b1 #ahad4     
#8,,sir1--,i beg to offer one or two    
explanations with respect to the article

 on the subject of public institutions  
for the promotion of the ,fine ,arts1   
which does not appear to me to have been
 exactly understood by 8,a ,,student    
,,of ,,the ,,royal ,,academy40#ib ,the  
whole drift of that article is to       
explode the visionary theory1 that art  
may go on in an infinite series of      
imitation and improvement4 ,this theory 
has not a single fact or argument to    
support it4 ,all the highest efforts of 
art originate in the imitation of       
nature1 and end there4 ,no imitation of 
others can carry us beyond this point1  
or ever enable us to reach it4 ,the     
imitation of the works of genius        
facilitates the acquisition of a certain
 degree of excellence1 but weakens and  
distracts while it facilitates1 and     
renders the acquisition of the highest  
degree of excellence impossible4        
,wherever the greatest individual genius
 has been exerted upon the finest models
 of nature1 there the greatest works of 
art have been produced1--the ,greek     

statues and the ,italian pictures4      
,there is no substitute in art for      
nature2 in proportion as we remove from 
this original source1 we dwindle into   
mediocrity and flimsiness1 and whenever 
the artificial and systematic assistance
 afforded to genius becomes extreme1 it 
overlays it altogether4 ,we cannot make 
use of other men's minds1 any more than 
of their limbs4#ic ,art is not science1 
nor is the progress made in the one ever
 like the progress made in the other4   
,the one is retrograde for the very same
 reason that the other is progressive2  
because science is mechanical1 and art  
is not1 and in proportion as we rely on 
mechanical means1 we lose the essence4  
,is there a single exception to this    
rule8 ,the worst artists in the world   
are the modern ,italians1 who lived in  
the midst of the finest works of        
art3--the persons least like the ,greek 
sculptors are the modern ,french        
painters1 who copy nothing but the      
antique4 ,velasquez might be improved by

 a pilgrimage to the ,vatican1 but if it
 had been his morning's lounge1 it would
 have ruined him4 ,michael ,angelo1 the 
cartoons of ,leonardi da ,vinci1 and the
 antique1 your correspondent tells us1  
produced ,raphael4 ,why have they       
produced no second ,raphael8 ,what      
produced ,michael ,angelo1 ,leonardi da 
,vinci1 and the antique8 ,surely not    
,michael ,angelo1 ,leonardi da ,vinci1  
and the antique6 ,if ,sir ,joshua       
,reynolds would never have observed a   
certain expression in nature1 if he had 
not seen it in ,correggio1 it is        
tolerably certain that he would never   
execute it so well2 and in fact1 though 
,sir ,joshua was largely indebted to    
,correggio1 yet his imitations are not  
equal to the originals4 ,the two little 
boys in ,correggio's ,danae are worth   
all the children ,sir ,joshua ever      
painted3 and the ,hymen in the same     
picture1 7with leave be it spoken17 is  
worth all his works put together4--,but 
the student of the ,royal ,academy      

thinks that ,carlo ,maratti1 and        
,raphael ,mengs are only exceptions to  
the common rule of progressive          
improvement in the art4 ,if these are   
the exceptions1 where are the examples8 
,if we are to credit him1 and it would  
be uncivil not to do it1 they are to be 
found in the present students of the    
,royal ,academy1 whom1 he says1 it would
 be unreasonable to confound with such  
minds as those of ,carlo ,maratti1 and  
,raphael ,mengs4 ,be it so4 ,this is a  
point to be decided by time4  #8,the    
whole question was at once decided by   
the person who said that 8to imitate the
 ,iliad1 was not to imitate ,homer40    
,after this has once been stated1 it is 
quite in vain to argue the point        
farther4 ,the idea of piling art on art1
 and heaping excellence on excellence1  
is a mere fable2 and we may very safely 
say1 that the frontispiece of all such  
pretended institutions and academies for
 the promotion of the fine arts1 founded
 on this principle1 and 8pointing to the

 skies10 should be--             8,like 
a tall bully1 lifts the head1 and       
lies40#id  #8,absurd as this theory is1 
it flatters our vanity and our          
indolence1 and these are two great      
points gained4 ,it is gratifying to     
suppose that art may have gone on from  
the beginning1 reposing upon art1 like  
the ,indian elephant and the tortoise1  
that it has improved1 and will still go 
on improving1 without the trouble of    
going back to nature4 ,by these         
theorists1 nature is always kept in the 
back-ground1 or does not even terminate 
the vista in their prospects4 ,she is a 
mistress too importunate1 and who       
requires too great sacrifices from the  
effeminacy of modern amateurs4 ,they    
will only see her in company1 or by     
proxy1 and are as much afraid of being  
reduced to their shifts with her in     
private1 as ,tattle in ,love for        
,love1#ie was afraid of being left alone
 with a pretty girl4  #8,i can only     
recollect one other thing to reply to4  

,your correspondent objects to my having
 said1 8,all the great painters of this 
period were thoroughly grounded in the  
first principles of their art2 had      
learned to copy a head1 a hand1 or an   
eye10 c4 ,all this knowledge of detail  
he attributes to academical instruction1
 and quotes ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 who 
says of himself--8,not having had the   
advantage of an early academical        
education1 ,i never had that facility in
 drawing the naked figure1 which an     
artist ought to have40 ,first1 ,i might 
answer1 that the drawing from casts can 
never assist the student in copying the 
face1 the eye1 or the extremities2 and  
that it was only of service in the      
knowledge of the trunk1 and the general 
proportions1 which are comparatively    
lost in the style of ,english art1 which
 is not naked1 but clothed4 ,secondly1  
,i would say1 with respect to ,sir      
,joshua1 that his inability to draw the 
naked figure arose from his not having  
been accustomed to draw it2 and that    

drawing from the antique would not have 
enabled either him or any one else to   
draw from the naked figure4 ,the        
difficulty of copying from nature1 or in
 other words of doing any thing that has
 not been done before1 or that is worth 
doing1 is that of combining many ideas  
at once1 or of reconciling things in    
motion3 whereas in copying from the     
antique1 you have only to copy still    
life1 and in proportion as you get a    
knack at the one1 you disqualify        
yourself for the other4  #8,as to what  
your correspondent adds of painting and 
poetry being the same thing1 it is an   
old story which ,i do not believe4 ,but 
who would ever think of setting up a    
school of poetry8 ,byshe's#if ,art of   
,poetry and the ,gradus ad ,parnassum1  
are a jest4 ,royal ,academies and       
,british ,institutions are to painting1 
what ,byshe's ,art of ,poetry and the   
,gradus ad ,parnassum1 are to the       
8sister art40 ,poetry1 as it becomes    
artificial1 becomes bad1 instead of     

good--the poetry of words1 instead of   
things4 ,milton is the only poet who    
gave to borrowed materials the force of 
originality4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your humble  
,servant1                               
,w4 ,h4'  ,a note indicates that        
articles on ,sir ,j4 ,reynolds's merits 
as an artist and a writer will follow3  
the first two of these articles were    
those which appeared on ,october #cj and
 ,november #f1 #ahad4 ,the remaining    
articles1 dealing mainly with ,sir      
,joshua ,reynolds as a writer will be   
found in the final volumes of the       
present edition4                        
,,james ,,barry  #dac4 ,contributed to  
the ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 under the 
signature ,z4 ,in the seventh edition of
 the ,encyclopdia the signature was     
printed ,,dd4 ,in addition to the       
criticism on ,barry here reprinted five 
further notices are credited to ,hazlitt
 by means of the same signature4 ,they  
are ,j4 ,b4 ,basedaw1 ,j4 ,beckmann1    
,xavier ,bettinelli1 ,g4 ,b4 ,bilfinger1

 and ,g4 ,a4 ,burger4 ,these notices are
 purely compilations of the usual       
,biographical ,dictionary order2 they   
are far removed from the scope of       
,hazlitt's work1 and they do not bear   
internal evidence of being by him4 ,it  
has been thought best therefore not to  
reprint them as his but to mention the  
names of the subjects as above4  #daf4  
,mr4 ,stuart4 ,james ,stuart            
7#agac-aghh71 painter and architect4    
,his work1 ,the ,antiquities of ,athens 
7#agfb71 is largely responsible for the 
imitations of ,greek architecture in    
,london4  #dai4 ,mr4 ,hamilton4 ,sir    
,william ,hamilton 7#agcj-ahjc71        
archologist and diplomatist4 ,his wife  
was ,emma ,hart1 the celebrated         
#8,nelson' ,lady ,hamilton4  #dai4      
,count de ,firmian4 ,joseph1 ,count de  
,firmian 7#agaf-aghb71 ,austrian        
diplomatist4 ,he was appointed to       
,lombardy in #agei and was practically  
ruler there4 ,he has the reputation of  
having been a patron of art4  ,mr4      

,valentine ,green 7#agci-ahac74         
,engraver1 writer1 and keeper of the    
,british ,institution from #ahje until  
his death4  #dbj4 ,whatever the hand had
 done4 ,boswell's ,johnson 7ed4 ,g4 ,b4 
,hill1 vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #bbd74  #dba4 ,dr4 
,burney swimming in the ,thames4 ,see   
vol4 ,i4 ,the ,round ,table1 p4 #ce and 
note4                                   
,,originality  ,an article under the    
general heading of ,specimens of a      
,dictionary of ,definitions4 ,from ,the 
,atlas1 ,january #c1 #ahcj4  #dbd4      
,multum abludit imago4 ,horace1 ,sat4   
,,ii4 #c4 #cbj4  ,mistress' eyebrow4 ,as
 ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4    
,grace is in all her steps4 ,paradise   
,lost1 ,,viii4 #dhh4  ,whate'er ,lorrain
 light-touch'd4 ,thomson1 ,the ,castle  
of ,indolence1 ,i4 #ch4  #dbf4 ,hoppner4
 ,john ,hoppner 7#ageh-ahaj71 portrait  
painter4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 ,mr4           
,northcote's ,conversations1 p4 #ccd and
 note4  ,jackson4 ,john ,jackson        
7#aggh-ahca71 portrait painter1 the son 

of a village tailor in ,yorkshire4 ,his 
finest portrait is one of ,flaxman1 also
 a ,yorkshireman4  ,gayest1 happiest    
attitudes4 ,akenside1 ,pleasures of the 
,imagination1 ,i4 #cj4  #dbh4 ,semblable
 coherence4 #b ,king ,henry ,,iv41 ,act 
,v4 ,sc4 #a4  ,the great vulgar and the 
small4 ,cowley1 ,horace1 ,odes1 ,,iii4  
#a4  ,the strong conception4 ,othello1  
,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4  ,that the mind groans
 withal4 ,ibid41 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4      
,,the ,,ideal  ,another of the          
,specimens of a ,dictionary of          
,definitions1 from ,the ,atlas1 ,january
 #aj1 #ahcj4  #dbi4 ,in ,hazlitt's      
,criticisms on ,art1 edited by his son1 
the following passages are inserted in  
the reprint of ,the ,atlas article1     
presumably from ,hazlitt's ,,ms43       
,after power without effort1 add3 #8,it 
is the most exalted idea we can form of 
humanity4 ,some persons have hence      
raised it quite above humanity1 and made
 its essence to consist specifically in 
the representation of gods and          

goddesses1 just as if1 on the same      
principle that there are court painters1
 there were certain artists who had the 
privilege of being admitted into the    
mythological heaven1 and brought away   
casts and fac-similes of the mouth of   
,venus or the beard of ,jupiter4'       
,after in every part1 beautiful1 add3   
#8,the ,venus is only the idea of the   
most perfect female beauty1 and the     
statue will be none the worse for       
bearing the more modern name of         
,musidora4 ,the ideal is only making the
 best of what is natural and subject to 
the sense4'  #dcj4 ,severe in youthful  
beauty4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #hde4    
,inimitable on earth4 ,ibid41 ,,iii4    
#ejh4  ,after contradiction in terms1   
add3 #8,besides1 it might be objected   
captiously that what is strictly common 
to all is necessarily to be found       
exemplified in each individual4'  #dca4 
,till our content is absolute4 ,othello1
 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4  ,know1 virtue were
 not virtue4      #8,nor should the     

change be mourned1 even if the joys     
,of sense were able to return as fast1' 
etc4                                    
,laodamia4                 #dcb4        
,patient ,grizzle4 ,the ,clerke's ,tale4
  #dcc4 ,the human and the brute4 ,the  
two paragraphs that follow do not appear
 in ,the ,atlas1 but have been added to 
the ,essay from the source mentioned    
above4  #dcd4 ,to o'erstep the modesty  
of nature4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4
                                ,,royal 
,,academy  ,the following note occurs in
 the edition of ,hazlitt's ,essays on   
the ,fine ,arts1 edited by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 
,hazlitt 7#ahgc74 #8,the following note 
is written at the foot of the autograph 
,,ms4 by ,mr4 ,c4 ,cowden ,clarke3 8,an 
article written for me in the ,atlas    
newspaper1 by ,william ,hazlitt4 ,the   
autograph is his1 and ,i was at his     
elbow while he wrote it1 which occupied 
him about ten minutes or a quarter of an
 hour40'  #dce4 ,mr4 ,shee4 ,sir ,martin
 ,archer ,shee 7#aggj-ahej71 portrait   

painter from the age of sixteen onwards4
 ,he was knighted upon being made       
,president of the ,royal ,academy in    
#ahcj4  -----  ,footnote #fj3    ,see   
vol4 ,,vi41 ,mr4 ,northcote's           
,conversations1 note to p4 #dbb4        
,footnote #fa3    ,the conspirator in   
,peveril of the ,peak4 ,see ,b4         
,dobell's ,sidelights   on ,charles     
,lamb1 pp4 #bjc et seq41 for the story  
of this #8trouble1'   and also a later  
volume of the present edition4          
,footnote #fb3    ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4   
,sc4 #a4  ,footnote #fc3    ,ibid41 ,act
 ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4  ,footnote #fd3    ,cf4
 ante1 note to p4 #bad4  ,footnote #fe3 
,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4  ,footnote
 #ff3    ,in fact1 ,mr4 ,t4's landscapes
 are nothing but stained water-colour   
drawings1 loaded with oil-colour4 ,w4   
,h4  ,footnote #fg3    ,matvei          
,ivanovitch ,count ,platoff1 the        
,cossack 7#ageg-ahah71 who harried   the
 ,french in the retreat from ,moscow and
 later4 ,he visited ,london   with      

,blcher and was given a sword of honour4
  ,footnote #fh3    ,viscount           
,castlereagh was senior ,british        
plenipotentiary at the   ,congress of   
,vienna1 #ahad-ahae4  ,footnote #fi3    
,canto ,,ii4  ,footnote #gj3    ,thomas 
,tomkins 7#agdc-ahaf71 author of the    
,beauties of ,writing   7#aggg74 ,he    
wrote elaborate ornamental titles for   
books and taught   handwriting4         
,footnote #ga3    ,mary ,robinson       
7#ageh-ahjj71 actress1 and mistress of  
,george1 ,prince of   ,wales1 later     
,george ,,iv4  ,footnote #gb3           
,elizabeth ,billington 7#agfh-ahah71 one
 of the greatest of ,english   singers1 
of ,saxon birth1 ,english by marriage   
and training4  ,footnote #gc3    ,mengs 
speaks feelingly of #8the little        
varieties of form in the details   of   
the portraits of ,vandyke4' ,w4 ,h4     
,footnote #gd3    ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4
 #b4  ,footnote #ge3    #8,the large    
picture of the ,pembroke family at      
,wilton1 is a finer   commentary on the 

age of chivalry than ,mr4 ,burke's      
,reflections4' ,w4   ,h4  ,footnote #gf3
    ,catherine ,maria ,fisher 7d4       
#agfg71 the courtesan4  ,footnote #gg3  
,see ,warton's ,the ,history of ,english
 ,poetry1 #agha1 vol4 ,,ii41 pp4        
#bdi-bea4  ,footnote #gh3    ,the       
,speech on the ,nabob of ,arcot's debts4
  ,footnote #gi3    ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4
 ,sc4 #a4  ,footnote #hj3    #8,a young 
artist of the name of ,day1#hb in       
company with ,mr4 ,northcote   and      
another student1 taking leave of some   
pictures of ,titian in a   gallery at   
,naples said1 with tears in his         
eyes1--8,ah6 he was a fine old          
mouser60 ,this contains more true       
feeling than volumes of poetical        
criticism4 ,mr4 ,northcote has himself  
given a striking description of         
,titian1 in his elegant allegory called 
the ,painter's ,dream1 at the end   of  
his life of ,sir ,joshua4#hc ,it is     
worth remarking1 that   notwithstanding 
the delicacy and ingenuity with which he

 has contrived   to vary the characters 
of all the other painters1 yet when he  
comes to   his favourite modern1 he can 
only repeat the same images which he has
   before applied to ,correggio and     
others1 of wanton ,cupids and attendant 
,graces4' ,w4 ,h4  ,footnote #ha3       
,sir ,robert ,strange 7#agba-agib71 who 
fought for the ,stuarts at ,culloden    
and elsewhere1 one of the greatest of   
line engravers4  ,footnote #hb3         
,alexander ,day 7#aggc-ahda74 ,see vol4 
,,vi41 ,mr4 ,northcote's                
,conversations1 p4 #cdg and note4       
,footnote #hc3    ,see ante1 p4 #ff and 
note4  ,footnote #hd3    ,wordsworth's  
,excursion1 ,book ,,vii41 #ajad-af4     
,footnote #he3    ,pope3 ,eloisa to     
,abelard1 l4 #gd4  ,footnote #hf3       
,roger de ,piles 7#afce-agji71 painter  
and voluminous writer on art4  ,footnote
 #hg3    ,charles ,alphonse ,du ,fresnoy
 7#afaa-affe71 ,french painter and      
writer of   a poem on the art of        
painting4  ,footnote #hh3    ,benjamin  

,west 7#agch-ahbj7 succeeded ,sir       
,joshua ,reynolds in #agib as           
,president4  ,footnote #hi3    ,dryden1 
,absalom and ,achitophel1 ,i4 #eej4     
,footnote #ij3    ,essay on ,criticism1 
,,iii4 #ff4  ,footnote #ia3             
,goldsmith1 ,the ,traveller1 #db4       
,footnote #ib3    ,see a letter in ,the 
,champion1 ,september #be1 #ahad4 ,w4   
,h4  ,footnote #ic3    ,occasional      
assistance may be derived from both1    
but1 in general1 we   must trust to our 
own strength4 ,we cannot hope to become 
rich by   living upon alms4 ,constant   
assistance is the worst incumbrance4    
,the   accumulation of models1 and      
erection of universal schools for art1  
improved the genius of the student much 
in the same way that the   encouragement
 of night-cellars and gin-shops improves
 the health and   morals of the people4 
,w4 ,h4  ,footnote #id3    ,pope1 ,moral
 ,essays1 ,,iii4 #cch4  ,footnote #ie3  
,congreve's ,comedy1 #afie4  ,footnote  
#if3    ,edward ,bysshe 7fl4 #agab71    

whose ,art of ,english ,poetry was      
published   in #agjb4                   
,,appendix   ,i  ,,fragments ,,on ,,art 
7continued7  ,,why ,,the ,,arts ,,are   
,,not ,,progressive8  ,under the above  
heading appeared the second of two      
articles in the ,morning ,chronicle     
7,jan4 #aa and #ae1 #ahad74 ,see vol4   
,i4 ,the ,round ,table1 note to p4 #afj4
 ,the following passages were not used  
in ,the ,round ,table paper4  ,science  
and the mechanic arts depend not on the 
force with which the mind itself is     
endued1 or with which it contemplates   
given things 7for this is naturally much
 the same7 but on the number of things1 
successively perceived by the same or   
different persons1 and formally arranged
 and registered in books or memory1     
which admits of being varied and        
augmented indefinitely4 ,the number of  
objects to which the understanding may  
be directed is endless1 and the results1
 so far as they are positive1 tangible  
things1 may be set down and added one to

 another1 and made use of as occasion   
requires1 without creating any          
confusion1 and so as to produce a       
perpetual accumulation of useful        
knowledge4 ,what is once gained is never
 lost1 and may be multiplied daily1     
because this increase of knowledge does 
not depend upon increasing the force of 
the mind1 but on directing the same     
force to different things1 all of them  
in their nature definite1 demonstrable1 
existing to the mind outwardly and by   
signs1 less as the power than as the    
form of truth1 and in which all the     
difficulty lies in the first invention1 
not in the subsequent communication4 ,in
 like manner the mechanic parts of      
painting for instance1 such as the mode 
of preparing colours1 the laws of       
perspective1 etc41 which may be taught  
by rule and method1 so that the         
principle being once known1 every one   
may avail himself of it1 these          
subordinate and instrumental parts of   
the art admit of uniform excellence1    

though from accidental causes it has    
happened otherwise4 ,but it is not so in
 art itself1 in its higher and nobler   
essence4 #8,there is no shuffling1' but 
#8we ourselves compelled to give in     
evidence even to the teeth and forehead 
of our faults4'#ig ,there is no room for
 the division of labour--for the        
accumulation of borrowed advantages2 no 
artificial scale by which to heaven we  
may ascend2 because here excellence does
 not depend on the quantity of          
representative knowledge1 abstracted    
from a variety of subjects1 but on the  
original force of capacity1 and degree  
of attention1 applied to the same given 
subject1 natural feelings and images4   
,to use the distinction of a technical  
philosophy1 science depends on the      
discursive or extensive--art on the     
intuitive and intensive power of the    
mind4 ,one chemical or mathematical     
discovery may be added to another1      
because the degree and sort of faculty  
required to apprehend and retain them1  

are in both cases the same2 but no one  
can voluntarily add the colouring of    
,rubens to the expression of ,raphael1  
till he has the same eye for colour as  
,rubens1 and for expression as          
,raphael--that is1 the most  thorough   
feeling of what is profound in the one1 
or splendid in the other--of what no    
rules can teach1 nor words convey--and  
of what the mind must possess within    
itself1 and by a kind of participation  
with nature1 or remain for ever         
destitute of it4 ,titian and ,correggio 
are the only painters who united to     
perfect colouring a degree of           
expression1 the one in his portraits1   
and the other in his histories1 all but 
equal1 if not equal1 to the highest4    
,but this union of different qualities  
they had from nature1 and not by method4
 ,in fact1 we judge of science by the   
number of effects produced--of art by   
the energy which produces them4 ,the one
 is knowledge--the other power4  ,the   
arts of painting and 444 #8,i also was  

an ,arcadian6'  ,what have we left to   
console us for all this8 ,why1 we have  
,mr4 ,rogers's #8,pleasures of ,memory1'
 and ,mr4 ,campbell's #8,pleasures of   
,hope'2 ,mr4 ,westall's pictures1 and   
all ,west's2 ,miss ,burney's new novel  
7which is1 however1 some comfort71 ,miss
 ,edgeworth's ,fashionable ,tales1      
,madame de ,stal's next work1 whatever  
it may be1 and the praise of it in the  
,edinburgh ,review1 and ,sir ,james     
,macintosh's ,history4                  
,,ii  ,see ,note to page #cbf4  ,report 
from the ,select ,committee of the      
,house of ,commons on the ,elgin        
,marbles4--,,murray4  ,the ,elgin       
,marbles are the best answer to ,sir    
,joshua ,reynolds's ,discourses4        
,considered in that point of view1 they 
are invaluable3 in any other1 they are  
not worth so much as has been said4     
,nothing remains of them but their      
style2 but that is everything1 for it is
 the style of nature4 ,art is the       
imitation of nature2 and the ,elgin     

,marbles are in their essence and their 
perfection casts from nature1--from fine
 nature1 it is true1 but from real1     
living1 moving nature2 from objects in  
nature1 answering to an idea in the     
artist's mind1 not from an idea in the  
artist's mind abstracted from all       
objects in nature4 ,already these       
,marbles have produced a revolution in  
our artists' minds1 and ,mr4 ,west says1
 in his practice3 ,the venerable        
,president makes an express distinction 
in their favour between dignified art   
and systematic art4 ,mr4 ,chauntry      
considers simplicity and grandeur so    
nearly united in them1 that it is almost
 impossible to separate them4 ,sir      
,thomas ,laurence in returning from the 
,elgin ,marbles to his own house1 where 
he has casts of the finest antiques1 was
 struck with the greater degree of ease 
and nature in the former4 ,mr4 ,flaxman 
alone holds out for the ideal4 ,the     
whole of his evidence on this subject   
is1 indeed1 quite ideal3 ,mr4 ,payne    

,knight's evidence is learned           
evidence4--,it is to be hoped1 however1 
that these ,marbles with the name of    
,phidias thrown into the scale of common
 sense1 may lift the ,fine ,arts out of 
the ,limbo of vanity and affectation    
into which they were conjured in this   
country about fifty years ago1 and in   
which they have lain sprawling and      
fluttering1 gasping for breath1 wasting 
away1 vapid and abortive ever           
since1--the shadow of a shade4 ,the     
benefit of high examples of ,art1 is to 
prevent the mischievous effect of bad   
ones4 ,a true theory of ,art does not   
advance the student one step in         
practice1 one hair's-breadth nearer the 
goal of excellence3 but it takes the    
fetters from off his feet1 and loosens  
the bandages from his eyes4 ,we lay     
somewhat more stress on the value of the
 ,fine ,arts than ,mr4 ,payne ,knight1  
who considers them 7we know not for what
 reason7 as an elegant antithesis to    
morality4 ,we think they are nearly     

related to it4 ,all morality seems to be
 little more than keeping people out of 
mischief1 as we send children to school2
 and the ,fine ,arts are in that respect
 a school of morality4 ,they bribe the  
senses into the service of the          
understanding3 they kill ,time1 the     
great enemy of man2 they employ the mind
 usefully--about nothing2 and by        
preventing ennui1 promote the chief ends
 of virtue4 ,a taste for the ,fine ,arts
 also1 in periods of luxury and         
refinement1 not ill supplies the place  
of religious enthusiasm4 ,it feeds our  
love and admiration of the grand1 the   
good1 the beautiful4 ,what is the       
respect which is felt for the names of  
,raphael1 of ,michael ,angelo1 of       
,phidias1 of ,homer and of ,milton1 but 
a sort of hero worship1 only with this  
difference1 that in the one case we pay 
an indistinct homage to the powers of   
the mind1 whereas the worshippers of    
,theseus and ,hercules deified the      
powers and virtues of the body8  ,with  

respect to the tendency of the works    
here collected to promote the ,fine     
,arts in this country1 though not so    
sanguine as some persons1 or even as the
 ,committee of the ,house of ,commons1  
we are not without our hopes4--,the only
 possible way to improve the taste for  
art in a country1 is by a collection of 
standing works of established           
reputation1 and which are capable by the
 sanctity of their name of overawing the
 petulance of public opinion4 ,this     
result can never be produced by the     
encouragement given to the works of     
contemporary artists4 ,the public       
ignorance will much sooner debauch them 
than they will reform the want of taste 
in the public4 ,but where works of the  
highest character and excellence are    
brought forward in a manner due to their
 merits1 and rendered accessible to the 
public1 though they may do little for   
the national genius1 it is hard if they 
do not add something to the public      
taste4 ,in this way also they may react 

upon the production of original         
excellence4 ,it was in this point of    
view that the ,gallery of the ,louvre   
was of the greatest importance not only 
to ,france1 but to ,europe4 ,it was a   
means to civilise the world4 ,there ,art
 lifted up her head and was seated on   
her throne1 and said1 ,all eyes shall   
see me1 and all knees shall bow to me4  
,honour was done to her and all hers4   
,there was her treasure1 and there the  
inventory of all she had4 ,there she had
 gathered together all her pomp1 and    
there was her shrine1 and there her     
votaries came and worshipped as in a    
temple4 ,the crown she wore was brighter
 than that of kings4 ,where the triumphs
 of human liberty had been1 there were  
the triumphs of human genius4 ,for      
there1 in the ,louvre1 were the precious
 monuments of art2--there #8stood the   
statue that enchants the world'2#ih     
there was the ,apollo1 the ,laocoon1 the
 ,dying ,gladiator1 the ,head of the    
,antinous1 ,diana with her ,fawn1 the   

,muses and the ,graces in a ring1 and   
all the glories of the antique world3-- 
#8,there was old ,proteus coming from   
the sea1             ,and wreathed      
,triton blew his winding horn4'#ii      
,there1 too1 were the two ,st4 ,jeromes1
 ,correggio's and ,domenichino's2 there 
was ,raphael's ,transfiguration1 the    
,st4 ,mark of ,tintoret1 ,paul          
,veronese's ,marriage of ,cana1 the     
,deluge of ,nicholas ,poussin1 and      
,titian's ,st4 ,peter ,martyr2--all     
these and more than these1 of which the 
world was not worthy4 ,the worshippers  
of hereditary power and native          
imbecility wanted at first to destroy   
these monuments of human genius1 which  
give the eternal lie to their creed2    
they did not dare to do that1 they have 
dispersed them1 and they have done well4
 ,they were an insult to the assembled  
majesty of hereditary power and native  
imbecility1 both in the genius that had 
produced them1 and that had acquired    
them2 and it was fit that they should be

 removed4 ,they were an obstacle in the 
way1 in case the great ,duke should have
 to teach the great nation another great
 moral lesson by the burning of ,paris1 
which has been a favourite object with  
some persons since the year #agib1 and  
with others later2 and it was fit that  
they should be removed4 ,the ,french    
themselves did not think proper to      
defend what they had dearly bought with 
their blood1 shed for their country1 and
 it was fit that they should be removed4
 ,besides these reasons1 there were no  
others for their removal4 ,the reason   
assigned in the ,duke of ,wellington's  
letter1 that the works of art should be 
sacred to conquerors1 and an heir-loom  
of the soil that gives them birth1 is   
quite apocryphal4 ,half of the works    
brought from ,italy had been originally 
brought there from ,greece4 ,if works of
 art are to be a sort of fixtures in    
every country1 why are the ,elgin       
,marbles brought here1 for our artists  
to strut and fret over this acquisition 

to our #8glorious country'8 ,if the     
,french were not to retain their        
collection of perfect works of art1 why 
should we be allowed to make one of     
still higher pretensions under pretence 
of carrying off only fragments and      
rubbish8 ,the ,earl of ,elgin brought   
away the ,theseus and the ,neptune as   
bits of architecture1 as loose pieces of
 stone2 but no sooner do they get into  
the possession of our glorious country1 
than they are discovered to be          
infinitely superior to the ,apollo1 the 
,venus1 and the ,laocoon1 and all the   
rest of that class1 which are found out 
to be no better than modern antiques4   
,all this may be true1 but it is truth  
with a suspicious appearance4 ,if works 
of art are contemplated with peculiar   
interest on the spot which gave them    
birth1 surely ,athens has charms for the
 eyes of learning and taste as well as  
,rome4 ,if there is something classical 
in the very air of ,venice1 of ,antwerp1
 and of ,rotterdam1 surely there is an  

air at ,athens which is breathed nowhere
 else4  ,if this reasoning would apply  
to such works in their perfect state1 it
 does so still more in their approaches 
to decay and ruin1 for then the local   
interest belonging to them becomes the  
principal impression4 ,lord ,elgin      
appears not to have had the slightest   
authority for bringing away these       
statues1 except a fermaun or permission 
from the ,turkish ,government to bring  
away pieces of stone from the ruins of  
the ,parthenon1 which he paid #ba1jjj   
piastres to the ,governor of ,athens for
 permission to interpret as he pleased4 
,that it was not meant to apply to the  
statues1 and only to fragments of the   
buildings1 is also evident from this1   
that ,lord ,elgin had originally1 and at
 the time the fermaun was granted1 no   
intention1 as he himself says1 of       
bringing away the statues4 ,lord        
,aberdeen approves of bringing them     
away1 because otherwise the ,french     
might have got them4 ,in what we have   

said1 we do not blame ,lord ,elgin for  
what he has done2 all our feelings run  
the contrary way4 ,we only blame cant   
and hypocrisy3 we only blame those who  
blame others1 and yet would do the very 
same things themselves4 ,there does not 
appear to be any evidence that these    
statues were done by ,phidias4 ,it seems
 extremely probable1 however1 that they 
were done by persons under his          
direction1 and in a style that he       
approved4 ,what that style is1 and what 
the principles of art are which are to  
be derived from it1 we shall briefly    
attempt to state in another article on  
this interesting subject4  -----        
,footnote #ig3    ,hamlet1 ,,iii4 #c4   
,footnote #ih3    ,thomson1 ,the        
,seasons1 #8,summer1' #acdg4 ,cf4 ante1 
p4 #ajg4  ,footnote #ii3                
,wordsworth's sonnet1 #8,the ,world is  
too much with us4'    ,printed by ,t4   
and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his  
,majesty at the ,edinburgh              
,university ,press                      

----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,transcriber',s ,,notes    #a4 ,changed
 8,poodles are the true desirs0 to      
8,poodles are the true       dsirs0 on  
p4 #abe4  #b4 ,changed 8feeling in rare0
 to 8feeling is rare0 on p4 #bgg4  #c4  
,silently corrected typographical       
errors4  #d4 ,retained anachronistic and
 non-standard spellings as printed4  #e4
 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4